The Express.
London, England, 1847-03-16 00:00:00

with that of any other country. The large amount of labour
requirod in its growth and preparatioe, will operate in
Ireland to give it claims above all others. Again, the mye-
tenons sad painful calamity with which this land has been
visited, in the total destruction of the potato crop, on which
two-thirds of our population have hitherto depended for
food, with the probability that it will be imponible for some
years, if ever, to grow the quantity of this root hitherto
annually produced, will lead to most important changes in
nor social economy."
A remonstrance on a singular :system of waste is especially
deserving of attention at the present moment:—' Your
committee have yearly in their reports to on, and constantly
through the prirtiesl instrut•ions of their agriculturists,
urged moat strongly the imporance and value of flaxseed as
lead for all kinds of live stock, and the utter folly and culpa-
bility of permitting this to go to waste in the steep-pools.
The produce of the Irish flax crop in seed may he taken as
averaging 10J,000 to 120,000 quarters annually, value above
querter of a million sterling. While thin, or a large pro-
portion of it, has been allowed to go to utter loss, the imports
of flaxseed and oil-cakes front the Continent into the United
Kingdom have averaged 600,000 quarters of the former, and
80,000 tons of the latter annually, value at least two millions
sterling. Your committee are, however, happy to report
that, throogh their strong recommendations and the instrue-
tions of the agriculturists, more and more of the see 1 is each
year armed, although as yet fully two-thirds are wasted. The
success of those gentlemen in the east of England who have
introduced, under the able direction of Mr. Warne', an
excellent system of house-feeling on flaxseed, is deserving of
serious atu ntion on the part of Irish farmers; and its
adoption is highly recommended."
The flax crop seems to have cheated the hopes of the
Irish farmer as well as the potatoes, which, perhaps, so-
counts for a considerable prevalence of datives in Ulster.
"Partly owing to the unusual quantity of rain which fell
during the winter and spring, preventing the farriers from
bringing the heavier clay toils, which constitute a largo
proportion in the best flan-growing districts of Ulster, Mtn
that fine filth which the plant requires; and partly from
the fears entertained on the seo-a of obtaining genuine
seed, which were prevalent after the frauds practised hist
year, the breadth of flax soon was considerably under an
average. The long-continued drought of summer bad a
most prejudicial effect on the growing crops, from which
they did not nubsequentic recover ; arid the produce has, in
consequence, been much less than usual, while the quality
also has been considerably deteriorated. The crops on the
continent have also suffered from the same cause, some even
to a greater degree."
The society gives good hints about economising manure,—
"It has always been urged against flax culture, that it
exhausted the ma; but this is not necessarily e core. If
the feed be saved, and the cattle fed upon the bolls, a
valuable addition will be made to the manure heap, as per-
haps the richest manure is produced by this kind of food.
The putrescent water from the flu-pools should be carefully
prnerred, and either used as a top-drersing for grass or
mixed with the weeds and other refuse of the crop, in a heap
to ferment. By these means, almost all the matter ab-
stracted from the soil, by the flax crop, would he returned
in the shape of manure—the fibre being supplied by the
atmosphere alone."
We lately pablished the circular of the society addressed
to the landlords of Ireland on the subject of seed. Besides
guarding to the utmost against adulterations that have ha-
come frequent, srrangemente have been made with importers
to furnish seed on credit. Tim payment is not to be required
until Ist December. After such public spirited zonduct
the part of this society the landlords must do their part M
making use of the opportunity, when wanted, and the public
will not fail to intrust means to hands that employ it so
beneficially.

ENCOURAGEMENT OF TILLAGE.
The following is the circular of Mr. Welker, referred to
above:—

Office of Public Weeks, 12th Much, 1147.
Sir,—The oecamirsioners he,e received inetructions from the Loris
Ccenenisnorters of bee Majeety's Treasury, dire.ting that the Allow-
Mg notice be immediately glom
" That from Saturday, the 20th Han* the number of pereens em-
ployed on the relief works will be reduced not iem than 20 per cent.,
and that the remainder will be further diminlehed by AIIOAOMMO re.
&linker, in the proprrtions and et the times to be hereafter fixed,
until a now system of relief under the 10th Victoria,
cm. 7, shall have been brought full Into operation.' For
th, purpose of carrying the above Instructions iota effect, you
will make arrangements with the relief ineneetlng offteens
'of the pour-law union in whieta each work is Mired". toe the die-
charge, on the 20th of Murk of all pereona at present employed
holding ten aeresof land aed upwards, even if they Filmed exceed
the proportion of 20 per cool. If the number of such pentane should
not amount to the proportion above stated, those peewee ore t r be
discharged who hold the target amount of land !alibi:rapt
lea than tea acres), or of other property of any descrip-
tion." Aug at thin semen of the year, It in desirable heat
every should be held out to leteurers to return to the or.
dinary otampadeas *Mecca:art, cc that thane who cannot obtain
Maar dosed be istireed seder the pawkier at the 10th Viet, cap.
7, the ermiNiumetu bum k litatremy lodbmattmoe the eyetem or
wk. -wadi. after the Oth tostaaf, sad nap* labruera of every ale.
•0111101118. at a rate of daily wages under that at preeent gist% by
ilmmes is surroamding distrkts. You will enforce strict anal constant
'Matinee of the labourers from MI A.M. to AIX MIL, by directing
the °veneer of each work to call the roll every mornaug at erg
o'cloek, and from every person who does nut atteM at that hour, de.
duct a quarter of a day's pay ; from theft who do not appear before
nine o'clock, deduct half a day's pay. room who come after that
boor will not be employed during the day. The r. It wit ale° be
called at dr rim., and no payment for that day will be' allowed to any
person who does not appear. You will discharge all children under
nine yeare of age, and all women who are not supporter• of famihm.
You will, to La a pomible, diecontleue the employment of all home
or ammi—By order, Joe. C. Weueen, &eretary.

SCOTLAND.
EDINBURGH, Mancrt 13.
Mr. J. B. Smith addressed the Stirling electors on
Thursday, and was warmly received. The topics
principally touched .on were certain alleged unhand-
some charges made, or connived at, b 7 Mr. Allison
in regard to Mr. Smith's religious opinions, and a
defence was also tendered of Mr. Smith's connexion,
as a director of the Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway,
with the discontinuance of Sunday trains on that
line. The meeting was also addressed by Mr. Bright,
who spoke long and earnestly in behalf of Mr. Smith,
and who was also well received. When three candi-
dates start on liberal principles for the representation
of a district of burghs, partly agricultural and partly
manufacturing, it is no easy matter to predict results.
Mr. Smith has the prestige of the Anti Corn-Law
Association in his favour, Mr. Speirs will likely have
the government influence, and Mr. Allison has local
connexion, so that even supposing the equality of all
other things, the relative force of the salient points of
strength cannot as yet be nicely estimated.
A food riot took place in Ayr, on Thursday, but
the furor passed off with the burning of an effigy, and
the demolition of some shop windows.
THE STATE OP CA.ITUNTAB.—A shrewd correspondent
writes from this county, of date the 9th inst. : Nothing re-
quiring notice has occurred since my last, ezeept the eppre-
hendieg of some of the Castletowa rioters. We are now all
quiet, and thn presence of the soldiers, at 111.4 regarded ns
something very shocking, if not positively dangerous, is uow
looked upon as necessary and proper. Yet to my mind, it is
a very clumsy mode of maintaining the peace and protecting
the property of the district. Our worthy sheriff says we
mast increase the strength of the county constabu-
lary, consisting at present of three, who, with one
in Wick, and another in Thurso, constitute an effect-
ive civil force of Sys men. I have little faith either
in the military or the police scheme the schoolmaster
is the thing to defy the devil, provide food, and put
down discontent and riots. Yet when oho hints at
such a thing, one is laughed at, and:told dist the educated
dames have connived at and encouraged the recent tastiest
deluge. So they have. I ascribe not a little of the discon-
tent and turbulence of the labouring population to the false-
hoods of the protectionists when hawking ab nit their peti-
tions for signatures. As they sowed, so are they reaping. A
well-educated set of people, by which I mean men not
merely taught to read and cypher, but trained to apply a
few simple and eternal principles of truth, would never fall
a prey to such deceptions. The quality of the article, teacher,
is as bad as its scarcity is great. Surely there can be no
objection to the government establishing normal or training
schools to prepare—what cannot be got at present (and never
will under the voluntary system) for love or money—properly
qualitteal teachers. Since 1843, the number of churches and
clergymen in Caithness has been at lead doubled ; every one
is now (in name at least) a Calvinist if not a Chrkian ; yet
until the reil.rontr came in, for some weeks, no one from the
country dared to offer a basket of eggs for sale in either of
the towns at more than 3d. a dozen. By the way, with all
the outcry at the rise in the price of food, there is not a mur-
mar at the increasing scarcity of money wherewith food is
bought, and tke means of producing it provided. The Com-
mercial Bank has just sent round a circular to the (Mist that
61 per cent. will be charged on all advances. This is an illus-
tration of the folly of attempting to give additional value or
security to the paper issues isf the Scotch Banks by the
obligation to hold so much gold."
MlAlBl3lo.—Sir Evan Mackenzie bee upwards of 180
people employed on his estate at if deny, under the Drainage
Act. Sir Evan commenced last week a personal inspection of
all the tenants and crofters on the estate, so as to know by
actual observation their real state and circumstances, and the
number of individuals in each family. We are informed,
also, that Mr. Graham, of Dryaie, has a number of men em-
ployed on that estate, making and repairing roads, and some
of the crofters draining and improving their crofts.—Daver-
neva Courier.

-51.Oittiiiiat. Glint/WM.—Lord Mansfield having applied
to the sheriff to prevent access to the old places of sepulchre
in the Abbey of Scone, on the ground that certain of the
inhabitants had violently broken into the enclosure, the
sheriff refused the prayer of the petition, and held in sub-
stanoe that as " the rude forefathers of the hamlet slept
there," their donendants could not be prohibited from
entrance.