Welsh Journals

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THE CAMBRIAN QUARTERLY MAGAZINE AND Celtic 3£Uptrtorj?. No. 10.—APRIL 1, 1831.—Vol. III. THE PRESENT STATE OF SOCIETY IN WALES. There was a time when the Principality of Wales was justly re¬ garded as the land of peaceful repose and open-hearted hospitality, as a country peculiarly distinguished by the courteous and cha¬ ritable disposition of the rich, and the unaffected and graceful respectfulness which characterised the demeanour of the peasantry. The conflict of party-sentiment, ever at work in other parts of the kingdom, seemed destined never to ruffle that general harmony of feeling which made the people of Wales appear, to one of her bards, like "the children of one family." This tranquillity was more striking when contrasted with the turbulent grandeur of the scenery of the country, and the numerous relics of the strife of other days, which are to be met with on almost every rock and mountain. We are far from meaning to imply that the good feel¬ ings which once so closely united all classes of society, are en¬ tirely lost; we believe, however, that they are considerably weakened in degree, and that they are every day growing more feeble in their influence, and of this there are many causes. Among the most prominent, we may allude to causes which affect the condition of the yeomanry and the labouring classes in the whole southern portion of the island; such as the depreciation of agricultural produce since the war; the contraction of the cur¬ rency; the abuses of the established church, first, in the injurious mode in which the stipends of the clergy are levied, and secondly, in the still more injurious mode in which those revenues are dis¬ tributed. Every one of these evils has tended to weaken the moral influence of the higher classes, both because they all have pressed upon the industrious classes of society, and because it is the nature of all misery to make men dissatisfied with existing in¬ stitutions. It must also be allowed, that the tone and habits of the no. x. l