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At length, however, Boyer adopted coercive measures, and in 1826 promulgated his Code Rural, which is as stringent as that of any of his predecessors. It enacts that every Haytian not employed in the civil or military service, in some manufacture, as a patented tradesman, or as a domestic servant, shall, under pain of imprisonment and hard labour, attach himself to some estate, and employ himself in agricultural labour. He cannot quit the country for the purpose of residing in any town or village, nor venture off the estate without a licence; he dare not desist from labour during the hours specified, nor take any recreation except at stated times; he is prohibited from keeping a shop, nor can he even send his children to school or to be apprenticed in a town, without especial permission. In return, the cultivator has a right to a fourth part of the produce of his labour, and the proprietor is bound to pay the expenses of his maintenance and other agricultural charges. However severe and little consistent with our ideas of freedom, we have no doubt that some such system is absolutely indispensable; but the misfortune is, that it acts only on the labourer, while it leaves the proprietor of a few acres, or of one, to indulge in idleness and dissipation, without let or hinderance. This inconsistency is aggravated by the circumstance of the government readily making grants of small patches of land (10 or 15 acres) to individuals who, in consequence, are emancipated from the onerous obligations of the Code Rural. This plan, as Mr. Franklin has observed, goes to "extend and perpetuate the evil and pernicious habits of the people. When a negro obtains a grant of a small tract of land, he cares little about the cultivation of it beyond the production of enough for his own immediate wants; and these wants are trifling. Two or three hours' labour in each week will suffice to answer all the purposes of the culture required to produce food enough for himself; the rest of his time is then allowed to dwindle away in the most puerile pleasures and inconsistencies. No object which moderate industry could procure would balance the insatiable desire for reposing under the shade of the guava, and for ablutions in the neighbouring stream: with these and a little food, all his wants are supplied. Such being the case, and known to be so by the government, it is enough to surprise one that they should parcel out their lands in this way; because, even under the Code Rural, the person holding it is no longer a labourer, but a proprietor, and is not, therefore, amenable to it. Had the government proceeded differently, and let the estates to farm as they were originally laid out, so many petty proprietors would not have existed, but would have remained amenable to the law for enforcing cultivation. From this unwise system, la bourers are scarce in Hayti, and the few that are to be obtained are of the worst character-negroes so abandoned as not to have been considered worthy of inheriting a patch of land. Hayti abounds with these small proprietors; their patches of land, with their huts upon them, are generally situate in the mountains, or on the most elevated parts, on spots, as the poet has described, the most inaccessible by shepherds trod.' They are therefore lost for the purposes of agriculture: their cultivation does not extend beyond vegetables for the markets in their vicinity; added to which, they furnish an occasional supply of pork, poultry, and wild pigeons. The Haytían proprietor is not a planter practically, and he is ignorant of its theory. There is nothing regular in his system; it is an anomaly, a strange incongruous method of proceeding, having no tendency either to improve the soil or benefit himself. The sugar planter, in the first place, is so ignorant, that he knows not the virtue which his soil possesses, nor what it is capable of producing. He considers not whether one field be better adapted for the production of canes than another, but plants indiscriminately in bad or good soil, in heavy or light; in fact, he knows not whether it ought to be planted with canes or cotton, or if it would be wise to allow it to become common pastures. He is contented, and seems to be quite satisfied, if he can but obtain vegetation in any way; careless about the manner in which it is accomplished. To ascertain whether it can be improved by art or industry, is a matter about which he is unconcerned." (Present State of Hayti, pp. 344-346.) We are without any authentic information as to the present state of agriculture; but if we estimate it by the best criterion, that of the exports, it would seem to be in the most depressed state. Sugar has all but entirely disappeared from the list of exports; and the exports of coffee and most other articles seem to be rapidly diminishing. And this, after all, is only what might have been anticipated. To expect that half civilised negroes, under a burning sun, and without the wants or desires of Europeans, should be equally industrious, is to expect what is contradictory, and all but absurd.

Commerce. The entire of the wholesale trade is in the hands of foreign merchants, towards whom, however, the most narrow and unwise policy is adopted. They may reside only in the eight free ports, Port-auPrince, Gonaives, Cape Haytien, Port-à-Plate, St. Domingo, Jacqmel, Cayes, and Jeremie, for which privilege

they have each to pay at least 1,600 dollars. They are obliged to confine themselves exclusively to foreign commerce; are not permitted to have any transactions with each other, to make local speculations, or buy the produce of the country, except through a native broker; and cannot resell any excess of produce when purchased. The coasting trade wholly belongs to Haytian citizens. The interior is supplied with imported goods by means of hucksters (usually females), the agents of the foreign merchants, with whom they balance accounts weekly. Beasts of burden are commonly used for the conveyance of goods, the roads, except in the N. W., being generally bad, and carriages few. The principal foreign trade is with Great Britain, France, the U. States, Holland, and Germany; besides which there is a considerable smuggling trade between Cayes and Cuba, Jamaica, &c. The chief British imports are printed cottons, muslins, ginghams, coffee bagging, woollens, cutlery, tin, and hardware, earthen and glass wares, cordage, army accoutrements, ammunition, &c. France supplies wines, liqueurs, silks, shawls, gloves, brandy, porcelain, perfumery, and other manufactured goods. The small imports from Holland and Germany include linen fabrics, bagging, inferior woollens, Rhenish wines, Spa and Selzer waters, &c. The U. States supply lumber, provisions, hides, and colonial produce. The following is a statement of the quantities of the principal articles exported from Hayti during each of the three years ending with 1837:

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In 1836, 369 ships, of 50,580 tons burden, and with cargoes worth 474,7824., entered, and 395 ships, of the burden of 52,485 tons, and with cargoes worth 921,3364., cleared out of the principal port: of the former, 84, with cargoes worth 192,2621. ; and of the latter 99, with cargoes worth 367.3881., were British. No goods are suffered to remain on board vessels coming to the ports, but are warehoused on payment of 1 per cent. per ann. The following goods are entered free of duty:- arms, ammunition, agricultural implements, horses, cattle, coin, and school-books. The import of mahogany, dye-woods, and other articles produced in the island, sword-sticks, &c. is prohibited, as is the export of arms, coin, old or new iron or copper, horses, asses, and timber for shipbuilding

The government, though nominally republican, is in reality an elective military monarchy: it is vested ostensibly in a president, senate, and chamber of representatives; but the whole efficient authority is wielded The president, who must be 35 by the chief officer. years of age at the time of his election, holds his office for life; is charged with all the executive duties; commands the army and navy; makes war, peace, and treaties, subject to the sanction of the senate; appoints all public functionaries; proposes to the commons all laws and issue of taxes, &c. ; but in case of malversation, may except those connected with taxation; directs the receipt be denounced by the senate, and tried by the High Court of Justice his salary is 40,000 dollars a year. The ministry consists of a secretary-general, and a financial and a judicial secretary. The senate consists of 24 mems. above 30 years of age, each chosen by the chamber of representatives, from lists furnished by the president. The senate sits nine years; and its previous mems. are re-eligible after a lapse of three years. Each senator receives 1,060 dollars annually. The chamber of representatives consists of 75 mems. chosen every five years by the electoral colleges of the respective communes. mems. must be 25 years of age, and each receives 200 dollars a month, besides a dollar a league for travelling expenses. The session of the chambers is limited to three months annually.

Its

The High Court of Justice, composed of 15 judges, has jurisdiction in all charges preferred by the legislative bodies against their own mems., or against the high state functionaries. There is no appeal from its decision, but the accused has the privilege of rejecting two thirds of his judges. There are 8 provincial, civil, and criminal courts,- at Cape Haytien, Cayes, St. Domingo, Gonaives, Jeremie, Jacqmel, Port-au-Prince, and St. Jago, composed of a president, 8 judges, a government commissary, &c., appeal from which lies to a court of *The returns of British trade at Cape Haytien are only for the last half of 1836.

cassation in the capital. Ordinary legal cases are decided by justices of the peace, who decide without appeal, in cases to the amount of 50 dollars. Justice is said to be very corrupt, and the police is very inefficient, except in enforcing the Code Rural. Fortunately, though petty thefts are common, serious crimes are rare. The legal code is a modification of the old colonial laws of France. By the constitution of 1806, revised in 1816, all Haytian citizens, whatever their origin, are distinguished by the generic name of blacks. All Indians, Africans, and their descendants, after one year's residence in Hayti, are entitled to the rights of citizenship; while whites are debarred from either becoming citizens or proprietors of land. Religion, Education, &c.-The Rom. Cath. is the established religion; but all other sects are tolerated. The church is under the archbishop of St. Domingo, 4 vicars general, and 31 parish priests. The government has appropriated to its own use all the property formerly belonging to the church; the monasteries have been suppressed; the chapter of St. Domingo has now only 6 canons; and the clergy, who are said to be in the last degree ignorant and corrupt, rely for support on voluntary contributions and fees, two thirds of which they must pay into the treasury. The established religion is consequently without any efficiency or influence in the state. Morals are universally disregarded: the private habits of the people are characterised chiefly by filth and laziness;" marriage is scarcely thought of, and the ties consequent on it have not the shadow of an existence."

Christophe made vigorous efforts to extend education, but many of his schoolhouses have been converted into barracks, or to other purposes. The schools founded by the Spaniards, in the E. part of the island, have been suppressed, except the University of St. Domingo, which has still 7 professors, but is little frequented. There are some government schools in the chief towns, a few on the Lancastrian plan, a military school in the cap., and some private academies; but reading, writing, and arithmetic are usually the utmost acquirements of the educated, and these are alleged not to be general, even among the members of the legislature. It is necessary, however, to bear in mind, that we have no very recent and well authenticated information as to the state of Hayti. The friends to the emancipation of the slaves in the British colonies represented it in far too favourable a light, while the opponents of that measure are believed to have exaggerated its defects. The establishment of an independent black commonwealth in one of the finest islands in the world, and in the vicinity of the U. States and of some of the principal colonies of the European powers, was certainly not the least extraordinary event of modern times; and the progress of so peculiar a community might have been expected, on many accounts, to have attracted a more than usual degree of attention. But such has not really proved to be the case. And, with the exception of Mr. Mackenzie's meagre, and now nearly antiquated report, we have no full or official information as to the moral, economical, or political condition of this negro republic; and are compelled, in consequence, to trust to defective and partial statements, and to analogies which, though probable, may not, after all, be well-founded. That such should be the case is not very creditable either to this or other civilised states; and we incline to think that the appointment of a commission to inquire into and report on the state and prospects of the Haytian community, while it could hardly fail to throw a great deal of light on many interesting questions, would be cordially approved by all the intelligent portion of the public.

The armed force consists of 33 regiments of the line, of 2 battalions each, 5 regiments of artillery, 2 regiments of dragoons, the president's guard, comprising 3 regiments of cavalry and 2 regiments of infantry, 1 regiment of gens-d'armerie, and 8 companies of rural police; in all 28,600 men, exclusive of staff officers. There is, besides, the national guard, composed, with a few exceptions, of all the males from 15 to 60 years of age. These form a body of perhaps 40,000 men, the superior officers of which are chosen by the president, and the inferior ones by the privates. The navy is quite insignificant, consisting of only three or four schooners, and a few small craft.

The public revenue is derived from import and export duties, territorial imposts, wharfage dues, taxes on demesnes farmed out, the land tax, stamps, patents, registry taxes, sale of demesnes, &c. In 1837, the public receipts, expenditure, &c. were as follows:

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In 1825, the president Boyer concluded a treaty with France, by the provisions of which the independence of Hayti was fully recognised, and its ports thrown open to all nations (ships sailing under the French flag, however, paying only half duties inwards and outwards); and 150 millions of francs, in five annual payments, were guaranteed to France as an indemnity for the losses of the colonists during the revolution. The first instalment of 30 millions was paid in 1836; but it being evident that Hayti was utterly unable to repeat the payment of such a sum, the French government, in 1838, agreed to reduce the remaining amount to 60 million francs, to be paid in six instalments by 1867: two of those instalments have already been discharged. (Encyc. des Gens du Monde.)

Hayti is divided into 6 departments and 33 arrondissements. Next to Cape Haytien and Port-au-Prince, which have been alternately the capitals, the chief towns are St. Domingo and Cayes.

St. Domingo, a sea-port on the S.E. coast, at the mouth of the Ozama, which forms its harbour, lat. 18° 28′ 40′′ N., long. 69° 59' 37" W., was the first permanent settlement made by Europeans in America, and though greatly diminished in importance, has still above 12,000 inhabs. It is surrounded by old ramparts strengthened by bastions and outworks. Its interior is regularly laid out; the streets, which intersect each other at right angles, are spacious, but not all paved. The houses are in the Spanish style, and many of them are fine substantial buildings. Besides the cathedral, a Gothic edifice, finished in 1540, and reported to have formerly contained the remains of Columbus, there are 9 other churches, 2 convents, 2 hospitals, some large barracks, an arsenal, lighthouse, old and new national palace, prison, &c. The handsome Jesuits' college has been converted into a military storehouse. No monks are to be seen, but in other respects the town has very much the air and character of a Spanish city. The whites and coloured inhabs. far outnumber the blacks. The climate is agreeable, the air being continually cooled by sea breezes. The harbour is both capacious and secure; it has from 10 to 12 ft. ot water; but, owing to a bar at the mouth of the Ozama, large ships are obliged to anchor in the roadstead outside, exposed to the S. winds. St. Domingo has a considerable trade with the interior, but its external commerce is now very limited. Cayes, one of the most flourishing towns in the island, is built close to its S.W. shore, lat. 18° 11' 10" N., long. 73° 50′ 19′′ W. Its harbour admits ships drawing 13 ft. water; those of larger size lie in the roadstead of Chateaudin, half a league W. Several British houses are established at this port. A considerable smuggling trade is carried on between Cayes and Jamaica. In the vicinity are upwards of 80 rum distilleries. The remaining towns of the island are now of little importance. (Mackenzie's Notes on Haïti, and Parl. Reports; Franklin's Present State of Hayti; Moreau de St. Mery, Descr. Topog. et Recueil des Lieux Princip. de St. Domingue; Edwards's Hist. Survey; Routier des Antilles; Encyc. Americana.)

HAZEBROUCK, a town of France, dép. du Nord, cap. arrond., in a fertile tract, 23 m. W.N.W. Lille. Pop. (1836) 4,926. Hugo says that the town is ill built; but other authorities affirm the contrary. It has several handsome public buildings, including the par. church, with a lofty and elegant spire, the townhall, finished in 1820, a fine specimen of classic style, the sub-prefecture, and Augustine convent now occupied by a college, primary school, house of charity, and depôt of tobacco. It has manufactures of linen fabrics, thread, starch, soap, leather, salt, beer, oil, lime, &c., and a large Saturday market for these and other kinds of goods. (Hugo; Guide du Voyageur, &c.)

HEBRIDES (THE), or WESTERN ISLES OF SCOTLAND, the Hebudes or Ebudes of the ancients), a series of islands and islets lying along the W. coast of Scotland, partly and principally in the Atlantic Ocean, but partly also in the Frith of Clyde, between 550 35 and 58° 51′ N. lat., and between 50 and 70 52 W. long. The islands (seven) in the Frith of Clyde constitute a co. (Buteshire), the others belong respectively to the counties of Argyle, Inverness, and Ross. The Hebrides consist of about 200 islands, great and small, and are usually divided into the Inner and Outer Hebrides; the former embracing all those islands which lie nearest to the mainland, including those in the Frith of Forth; the latter consisting of a long continuous range of islands, stretching N.N.E. and S.S.W. from Barra Head, in lat. 56° 49 N., to the Butt of the Lewis, in lat. 58° 51′ N. The strait, which divides the Outer Hebrides from the Inner, and from the mainland of Scotland, is called the Minsh, and is, where narrowest, from 15 to 16 m. across. The Outer Hebrides are commonly called the Long Island, and appear, in fact, as if they had originally consisted of one lengthened island, divided at a remote æra into its present portions by some convulsion of nature. Lewis and Harris (which are more extensive than all the rest put together), though considered as separate, form, in fact,

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Iona or Icolmkill

10

subsidiary islets

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Harris, with do.

Jura

84

Lewis, with do.

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North Uist, with do.

43 191 557 118

Lorn islands, or Scarba,

South Uist, with do.

127

Lunga, Luing, Sasil,

St. Kilda

Shuna, Eisdale, Ker

Add, for several islets

rera, &c.

30

or rocks not included

Mull

301

in the foregoing

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other islets depending

on Raasay or Skye]

20

Small islands, or Canna,
Rum, Eig, and Muck -

55

Staffa

Tyree

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Inner Hebrides

9

20

1,096 1,653 Total extent of Hebrides 2,750

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As the total number of acres is, according to the foregoing table, 1,760,000, and of individuals, in 1831, 104,021, it follows that the average density of the pop. is nearly 48 to a sq. m.; while the average pop. of the rest of Scotland is 86 to a sq. m.

The pop. has considerably increased since the census of 1831. The increase in the Outer Hebrides, in 1836-38, was 3,375; in the Inner Hebrides, including Buteshire, 2,065 total, 5,440. Of the 200 islands of which the Hebrides consist, more than half are so small, or so sterile, as not to be inhabited. In 1808, only 79 were regularly inhabited during the whole year; while 8 were tenanted during the summer, and abandoned on the approach of winter. The greater portion of the people reside within a mile of the sea-shore: in fact, except in the islands of Bute and Islay, scarcely an inhabited house can be seen 1,000 yards from the sea-shore, or 300 feet above the level of the sea. (Remarks on the Highlands and Islands of Scotland, by Fullarton and Baird. Glasgow, 1838.)

From the thinness of the pop., it is not to be expected that schools should be very common, or be easily accessible to the inhab. of every district; but each par. has at least one parochial school, except Barra, which has no school of any kind. Four of thein have two parochial schools, one of them has three, and two have four: total number of parochial schools, 42. This is exclusive of 149 nonparochial schools, of which those founded by the General Assembly's Education Committee, and the Society for the But Propagation of Christian Knowledge, form a part. notwithstanding the great number of schools, parochial and non-parochial, there were, in 1833, no fewer than 36.152 individuals, above six years of age, unable to read either English or Gaelic ! (Rep. of Gen. Assembly's Com., May, 1833.) The following table contains a statement of the number of schools, the greatest number of scholars in attendance, and the number of those above six years of age unable to read or write. [See top of next column.]

There is one par. (Kilmenny, in Islay) from which no return has been received as to the number of individuals at school; but taking it at the rate of the other islands, it will be about 630; so that the aggregate largest num

ber of persons at school in the Hebrides is 10,213, or nearly a tenth part of the pop. If this proportion continue (and there is every reason to believe that it will increase rather than diminish), there will very soon not be a single individual in this group of islands (except perhaps in remote or very thinly peopled corners) unable to read or write. It will be observed, that the means of education are the most limited, and the number of persons uneducated greatest, in the Outer Hebrides. In some of the smaller islands, such as Canna, Rum, &c, there are no schools, and not one of the inhab. can either read or write. (Educat. Inquiry, Scotland, Parl. Paper, Sess. 1837, vol. xlvii.; Gen. Assembly's Rep. ; and Fullarton and Baird, ut suprà.)

Gaelic or Celtic is the language spoken through. out the whole extent of the Hebrides; and in some of the more remote or thinly inhabited islands, it is But both still the only language used or known. English and Gaelic are now taught in almost every one of the schools, and the former is becoming common, and, in some instances, has almost superseded the use of the Gaelic. A few families, chiefly farmers from the lowlands of Scotland, have, of late years, settled in different parts of the Hebrides; and this, combined with the increased facilities of communication with the low country and with England which steam navigation affords, has had the effect of diffusing a more general knowledge of the English tongue than would otherwise have been the case. Speaking of the more populous portions of the Hebrides, we may say that there are few persons, if any, under 30 years of age, who do not understand English, though, with slight exceptions, Gaelic continues the language of common conversation. Gaelic was not, till about the beginning of last century, a written language; but the Bible, and a great variety of religious as well as miscellaneous books, have since been translated into it; and Gaelic grammars and dictionaries have also been published. These things have been done, not with the view of perpetuating the knowledge of a rude language, but of diffusing information among the inhabitants; but we are by no means clear that this would not be better attained by teaching English exclusively in schools, and making it the sole medium for popular instruction.

The 30 parishes of which the Hebrides consist have each a par. church, and a resident clergyman. There are, besides, 14 quoad sucra chapels belonging to the established church, 6 chapels belonging to the R. Catholics, 3 to Presbyterian dissenters, 2 to the Episcopalians, and 1 to Independents; the total number of places of worship being 56. In some of the islands, particularly Barra, Eig, and S. Uist, Catholicism abounds, to the entire exclusion of almost every other creed, The Catholic priests do not confine their labours to the islands in which they have their head quarters, but periodically visit all those in their neighbourhood where a single member of their church is to be found. Missionaries, belonging both to the established church and to the dissenters, are common throughout the Hebrides.

Though a poor-law has existed in Scotland since 1579, and is at present in operation in 236 Scotch parishes, it is practically unknown in the Hebrides. Limited as are the means of the inhabs., the poor are supported exclusively by the collections made at the church doors on Sunday, by (in some cases) other voluntary contributions, and by sessional funds; a legal assessment for their behoof having never, in one single instance, been adopted.

It appears, from the official returns, that the poor receiving relief are only as 1 to 51 of the inhab.; that the average annual amount given to each individual is 11s. 4d.; and that the cost averages rather less than 24d. to each head of pop. The lowest allowance is in a parish (Kilmuir) in the Isle of Skye, in which 5. is divided among no fewer than 110 persons, averaging scarcely 10d. each annually, the highest sum given being 1s. 6d. This insignificant degree of assistance is scarcely appre

The first books published in it were a version of the Psalms, and a translation of the Shorter Catechism, by the Synod of Argyle, in 1690.

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ciable, and proves how extremely destitute the people must be, and how low their estimate of physical comfort, when such a miserable pittance can be of any sensible benefit, or an object of desire. (Report of General Assembly on Poor in Scotland; Parl. Papers, 1839.)

The climate of the Hebrides is more humid, variable, and inhospitable, than that of any other part of the British dominions. "The temperature of the atmosphere is variable, the climate very rainy, and the air extremely moist; insomuch that when a person walks by the sea-side, in a hazy atmosphere and under a cloudy sky, the saline particles rest like dew on the pile of his coat. The dampness of the air is such, that in rooms wherein fires are not constantly kept, the walls emit a hoary down of a brinish taste, resembling pounded saltpetre, when brushed off. The climate is an enemy to polished iron and to books. Frequent and heavy rains fall at all seasons, especially after the Lammas term, whereby the hopes of the husbandman are often blasted, and the fruit of his toil and industry in a great measure lost." (New Stat. Account of Scotland, No. 12. p. 118.) In the Outer Hebrides winter lasts for six months, from the end of Oct. to the end of March: spring, summer, and autumn occupy the other half of the year. During the spring, E. winds prevail, at first interrupted by blasts and gales from other quarters, accompanied by rain or sleet, but ultimately becoming more steady, and accompanied with a comparative dry. ness of the atmosphere, occasioning the drifting of the sands to a great extent. Summer is sometimes fine, but as frequently wet and boisterous, with S. and W. winds. Frequently the wet weather continues, with intervals, until Sept., from which period to the middle of Oct. there is generally a continuance of dry After this, W. gales commence, becoming Diore boisterous as the season advances. Dreadful tempests sometimes happen through the winter, which often unroof the huts of the natives, destroy their boats, and cover the shores with immense heaps of sea-weeds, shells, and drift timber." (Macgillivray's Acc. of the Outer Hebrides; Edinburgh Quarterly Journ. of Agric., No. 11. p. 274.) These remarks are applicable, with very slight modifications, to the whole range of the Hebrides, the islands in the Frith of Clyde excepted; in which latter, the climate, though damp and variable, is comparatively genial and mild.

weather.

In addition to the unfavourable climate, the Hebrides are remarkable for their rugged and sterile soil, more than six sevenths of their superficial extent consisting of irreclaimable mountains, morasses, &c.; while the extent of arable and meadow land under grass, hay, corn, and potatoes, is little more than a ninth part Assuming the whole extent of the islands to be equal to 1,592,000 Scotch acres, or about 2,000,000 English (an estimate somewhat different from that given in this article), Mr. M'Donald, in his excellent Agricultural Survey of the Hebrides, supposes it may be distributed as follows:

Mountains, morasses, and undrained lakes,
scarcely yielding any specified rent to the Acres.
proprietors

Hill

pasture, appropriated to particular farms, and sometimes enclosed, or at least limited by acknowledged marches, as lakes, rivulets, &c., and paying rent

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Arable and meadow land, under grass, hay, corn, and potatoes

600,000

700,000

180,000

Kelp shores, dry at ebb-tide, regularly divided
among the tenantry, and producing 5,000 tons
of kelp, besides manure, annually
Ground occupied by villages, farm-houses, gar-
dens, gentlemen's parks, &c.

30,000

20,000

Ground occupied by peat-mosses annually; and by roads, ferry-houses, and boats

22,000

Barren sands, tossed about by the winds, and

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25,000

8,000
2,000

500 1,592,000 But, while the arable and meadow land is so limited, it is, at the same time, light, sandy, and poor, with some exceptions, in Islay and a few other islands, and unsusceptible of much improvement. The ordinary produce is black oats, barley or bigg, and potatoes. Mr. M'Donald distributes the arable land as follows:

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Small islands, or Canna, Rum, Eig, and Muck
Raasay and Rona

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pitious, but the tenure on which lands are held is, with Not only, however, are the soil and climate unprosome exceptions, as objectionable as possible. A very great majority of the farmers are tenants at will or from year to year; in other words, having no lease, they are liable to be turned out at the end of any year. This wretched system prevails almost universally in the Outer laid aside in 1815, and superseded by leases; but in Hebrides. In the islands in the Frith of Clyde, it was the remaining Inner Hebrides it still holds about three fourths of the land under its fetters, and nine tenths of the farmers. Besides, where leases are given, they generally range from 5 to 7 years, seldom extending to 9 Wherever this miserable system extends, there is a total apathy as to agricultural improvement. A tenant in the beaten track of his predecessors; but should he at will is almost sure to remain undisturbed if he follow try experiments, or execute any very considerable improvement, he is afraid lest a greater advance of rent should be demanded of him than the improvement may warrant, or that he may be ejected from the farm altogether. Hence, though a tenant at will may retrograde or may remain stationary, he very seldom advances, or advances only by almost imperceptible degrees. "Whatever may be the nature of the possession," to quote from an excellent authority," it cannot be imagined that any farmer of capital and skill should embark either on a property of which, in many instances, he can get no lease at all, or of which he is offered a lease of a duration too short to afford any hope of his being remunerated for his labour and expense before its termination. In Islay and some of the other farge islands of the Inner Hebrides, leases of 19 years are given, and there the consequences appear in the sytematic rotation of crops, and the general improvement of the country. The tenants, in such cases, are in every respect on a footing with those in any part of Scotland. They are in circumstances of comfort, respectability, and independence. But the situation of a tenant at will is, in the highest degree, discouraging and uncomfortable. When he is without a lease, he is liable to be turned out any term, however impossible it may be to obtain elsewhere a place of refuge or protection for himself and his family. When he has a lease of a short duration, the only difference is, that this painful state of things occurs at periods a little more remote from each other. The effect in both cases infallibly is, to beget, on the part of the tenant, a carelessness about improvement either of the farm or the family; which being for a certain time allowed to remain uncorrected, brings the most certain and irretrievable ruin upon both the one and the other." (Fullarton and Baird, P. 59, 60.)

In addition to the baneful system of tenants at will, another practice, that of parcelling the land into small farms, is still more unfavourable to improvement. Though on some of the islands, as Islay, Bute, Arran, and Skye, large farms are now to be found, they are usually small, the rents ranging from 51. to 50% a year. The small farmer, or crofter, who almost universally is a tenant at will, is nearly in every case devoid of capital, and cannot therefore, though he were willing, engage in any thing like improvement. The truth is, as universal experience has shown, that land, when let in small patches, is uniformly ill cultivated; no proper system is or can be adopted as to cropping or manure; but every year as much is extorted from the soil as it can produce. Besides, small farms are always let at proportionally higher rents than large ones. In the Outer Hebrides, the crofter depends as much on fishing and burning kelp for payment of his rent as on the produce of his farm'; and his whole life is a continual struggle with poverty and wretchedness, without improvement, or hope of improvement. But, in addition to the pernicious systems of tenants at will, and of small farms, another vicious practice prevails, viz., that of subletting. This practice has been in operation for ages, and though it has been checked in some of the islands, it is still very general, and wherever it exists, it is most pernicious.

High as the rent of small farms is, when held directly from the landlord, lands that are sublet are always higher. Indeed, such lands are generally let far above their real value; and the sub-tenant becomes, in the majority of cases, the immediate dependent of the farmer of whom he holds his lease, and not unfrequently pays part or the whole of his rent, by labouring in his service, to the neglect of his own wretched patch of ground.

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The system of tacksmen, which corresponds to that of middlemen in Ireland, also exists. The tacksmen hold considerable tracts of land directly from the landlord, at a certain specified rent; which they relet to others in smaller portions, and at a higher rent. tacksman is seldom so considerate or liberal as the landlord hence, not only are rack-rents exacted by the tacksmen, but comparatively little accommodation or generosity is extended to the sub-tenant. But this is not all: the system of joint tenancy also prevails in the Hebrides: under this system a number of persons, sometimes as many as 10 or 15, take a farm, in what is called run-rig, or partnership, who are jointly and severally liable for the rent. Each farm thus becomes a societas arandi, containing perhaps as many families as there are partners in the lease, each field being divided into as many stripes, separated by a narrow ridge called "a bone," where the stones, weeds, and other rubbish gathered off the land are accumulated. The share or stripe, which in some cases does not exceed 3 acres, belonging to each partner, is determined by lot, and is changed every second or third year, according to the arrangement of the parties. Ploughing and most sorts of labour are performed in common; and if there be any pasture land, it too is held in common; and when the crops are secured at the end of harvest, sheep, cattle, horses, and hogs range at large over the whole farm. It is obvious that this associated form of occupancy precludes all draining, enclosing, and laying down in grass; in short, presents an insuperable barrier to all improvements either of stock or of land. Indeed, this mode of holding land is, if possible, more pernicious than any before specified; but we are glad to have to state that it is every where declining, and will, it is likely, soon disappear altogether. (See ARGYLE.)

Hence, with the exception of the islands in the Frith of Clyde, and of Islay, Collonsay, and some portions of Skye and Mull, in all which large farms and other improvements have been more or less introduced, agriculture is in as backward a state as can be imagined. Generally there is nothing like a rotation of crops. The grains usually cultivated are bear or bigg, and the old Scotch grey oat. In the outfield, which means that portion of a farm nearest the hills, and farthest from the farm-house and offices, one miserable crop follows another, till the ground be thoroughly exhausted. It is then allowed to rest, yielding for several years nothing but weeds; and as soon as these begin to disappear, by the return of grass and heath, it is again broken up, to undergo the same exhausting process. In the cultivation of the infield, the system pursued is nearly as injudicious. No regular rotation is followed; but the general rule is, 1. oats; 2. oats; 3. potatoes and peas; 4. barley or bigg, with manure; 5. pease; 6. oats; 7. two years of pasture choked with weeds, unaided by sown grasses, and therefore deficient both in quality and quantity. In a few places only has draining been practised; and without a very extensive system of drainage, no material alteration can be made for the better. In places not drained or levelled, the implements of husbandry are of the same rude and barbarous description that they were nearly a century ago. In the Outer Hebrides, small tenants and cotters generally till the ground with the Chinese plough, of one stilt or handle, and the casschrom, a clumsy instrument, like a large club, shod with iron at the point, and a pin at the ankle for the labourer's foot. This antediluvian implement will soon be superseded by the spade, which has now come into almost general use. But the plough is never seen, except in cases of large farms. The common mode of turning the ground is by what is called teeming, forming a kind of lazy beds, such as are made in Ireland for the planting of potatoes. At this work two persons are employed, one on each side the ridge, which is seldom in a straight line, collecting the earth; and the earth, burrowed in this way, makes a proper bed for the seed. The ground being prepared, the seed is sprinkled from the hand in small quantities: the plots of ground being so small, narrow, and crooked, should the seed be cast as in large long fields, much of it would be lost. After sowing the seed, a harrow, with a heather brush at the tail of it, is used, which men and women drag after them, by means of a rope across their breasts and shoulders. The women are miserable slaves: they do the work of brutes, carry the manure in creels on their backs from the byre to the field, and use their fingers as a five-pronged gripe, to All them. In harvest, when the crop is ripe, no sickle

is used for the barley among the small tenants. The stalk is plucked; the ground is left bare; and consequently the soil is injured. When the sheaves are dry, and conveyed to the barn-yard, the sickle is then used to cut off the heads or ears. After this operation, all the heads are formed into a little stack covered with the roots of the sheaf, which had been cut off." (New Stat. Acc., Lewis, p. 131-133.)

It may be farther mentioned, that, except in Arran, Islay, Jura, and Skye, where roads have been made by parliamentary commissioners, assisted by the local landlords, roads or bridges can hardly be said to exist in the Hebrides; in some islands there is not a vestige of either. Of course, carts cannot, under such circumstances, be introduced. These, indeed, are confined to large farms and districts where roads have been constructed. In the less improved islands, all sorts of articles are conveyed either in panniers, slung across horses' backs, or by sea in boats. The advantages of good internal communication may, therefore, be said to be only partially known in the better portion of the Hebrides; in the remaining parts, which comprise about four fifths of the pop., they are almost entirely unknown.

It is well known that the system of small farms, subletting, and joint-tenancy, has a powerful tendency to give a factitious impulse to pop. And there is, in fact, in many instances, in the Hebrides, a great excess of pop. ; and when any reverse comes, when the crops or the fishery fail, the people, having no capital on which to fall back, are unavoidably and at once exposed to all the horrors of famine. An instance of this took place in 1836, when the distress was so general and alarming, that an appeal was made on their behalf, not merely to the Scotch public, but to that of the united empire; and a sum of no less than 50,0007. was, in a few months, raised for their relief. *

The pop. of the Hebrides has also been greatly increased by the introduction of the potato, which is now become the principal food of the people. It is, in fact, alleged that four fifths of the inhab. live principally on this root. And as the potato crop is more exposed to fluctuation than that of corn, they are placed in a proportionally perilous situation.

Pennant's account of the inhabs. of Islay, though no longer applicable to them, Islay having been most materially improved in the interval, is still strictly applicable to those of most of the other islands. "A set of people worn down by poverty, their habitations scenes of misery, made of loose stones, without chimnies, without doors, excepting the faggot opposed to the wind at one or other of the apertures, permitting the smoke to escape through the other, in order to prevent the pains of suffocation. The furniture perfectly corresponds: a pot-hook hangs from the middle of the roof, with a pot pendant over a grateless fire, filled with fare that may rather be called a permission to exist, than a support of vigorous life: the inmates, as may be expected, lean, withered, dusky, and smoke-dried." (Tour in Scotland, ii. 263.)

Those who compare this striking paragraph with the description given in the New Statistical Account of Scotland of the houses in the Lewis and other islands, will find that it is, if any thing, really too favourable. There the dwellings of the people are, speaking generally, wretched huts, that afford shelter not only to the cotters and their families, but also to their cattle and pigs : -Ignem que, laremque,

Et pecus, et dominos communi clauderet umbra. These huts, which are only half thatched, and without windows or chimnies, are indescribably filthy, and are, in fact, inferior even to the wigwams of the American Indians. The dung and other filth collected in and round the hut, is only removed once a year, when it is carried to the potatoe or barley field; and where also it is not unusual to strip the thatch off the hut, and to apply it to the same purpose. (New Statistical Account, art. Ross and Cromarty, pp. 129. 147. &c.)

It is right, however, to state, that these miserable huts have nearly disappeared from the estates of Mr. Campbell of Islay, of Lord Macdonald in the Isle of Skye, of the Duke of Hamilton in Arran, &c. ; and the probability is, that they would in no very long period wholly disappear, were it not for the embarrassed circumstances of many of the landlords, and their inability to undertake any improvement that requires any considerable outlay.

The dress of the people corresponds with their food and houses. The kilt and trews, the characteristic Highland dress, are rapidly disappearing, and are no longer to be found in Skye and some other islands. Home-made woollen stuffs, checked or blue, are the universal dress both of men and women. Cotton and linen shirts are not generally in use, except on Sundays, but the dress, as well as the manners of the more civilised parts of the

* Several Highland districts on the mainland were, at the same time, and from similar causes, involved in the like distress; and the sum in question was distributed in common in these districts and in

the Hebrides.

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