The Express.
London, England, 1847-10-01 00:00:00

SCOTLAND.

EDINBURGH, SEPT. 29.
The Education Committee of the Privy Council
has written to several publishers of school-books in
Edinburgh, regarding the prices at which large quan-
tities of some of the more approved class-books can
be supplied. Hitherto the committee has not inter-
fered with the manuals used in any of the seminaries
receiving grants ; and the object of the present step
may either be to recommend a given series of text-
books,
selected from the various manuals in current
use, or to supply gratuitously, or at a reduced rate,
the poorer schools with books of a suitable kind. Con-
sidering the success of the Irish school-books, and that
their compilation and publishing have from the first
been carried on by government, it is surprising that
books should have been sought from the Scotch mar-
ket. By the new report of the Irish Education Com-
missioners, the revenue from the sale of school-books
was 6,1291. 16s. 4d., while the free grants of books
amounted to 3,142/. 16s 10d.
The war with the Duke of Atholl is to begin in good
earnest. After writing two letters to his grace's
agent, the secretary of the Roadway Association re-
ceived the following answer :

Sir —I am in receipt of your farther letter of yeaterdny as to your
supplied " ancient rood through Glen Tilt." Upon resript of your
former letter of 10th loot., t wrote to the Duke of Atholl upon the sub-
ject, but bare as yet received no answer to my conamouicauuct. I feel
quite assured, however, that his Grime's understanding ii, that no
ancient road such as you refer to edits from Blair to Braemar ; and
consequently I feel pretty confident that the duke's determination will
be to resist all attempt by the public to establish any right of way
through (ilea Tilt.
- - -•- ••
- -

On this letter being read at the last meeting of the
association, it was unanimously resolved to commence
an action whenever funds were raised, and steps were
ordered to be taken for the collection of subscriptions
not only iu thelargetownsof Scotland, but also inthose
of England. The inhabitants of Lanark are also to tang
the law with certain proprietors in their neighbour.
hood who have thrown obstacles in the way of their
annual perambulations of the burghal boundaries. In
the meantime we have been consulting the original
and recent Statistical Accounts of Scotland in refer-
ence to the state of the parishes wherein the forests
of the Dukes of Atholl and Leeds are situated, and
have noted down a few particulars. Glen Tilt is in
Blair Athol, and Glen Lin Bay in Crathie—
both parishes have fallen off in population.
In 1755 Blair Athol had 3,257 inhabitants ;
now it has 3,000. In 1733 Cathie had 2,671, now it
has 1,712. The soil of Blair Athol is thus laid out :
Tillage, 3,000 acres; uncultivated, 103,000 acres;
natural wood, 50 acres; plantation, 2,000 acres : total,
110,030 acres. It is less cultivated now than for-
merly, bat what proportion of waste ground is re-
claimable, is not said. The produce is estimated as
follows:—From tillage, 3,000 acres at 51., 15,0001. ;
sheep, 7,600/. ; cows, 3,6001. ; goats, horses, wood,
&c., 1,0131.: total, 27,1151. The rental is about
14,0001. per annum, and the deer in the forest are
estimated- at 7,000. In Crathie, the surface contains
199,6.58 acres, of which 11,000 are under tillage. As
to the tabooing of Glen Tilt, there is a " Report con-
cerning Forestries," dated 1680, wherein it is said,
"This forreetrie now craved [as a king's forest], is
not to be enclosed, as commonlie forestries are." And
as to the alleged timidity of the deer when a biped is
seen on the sky line, the animals must have greatly
changed since 1755—f0r here are the exact words of
the then minister of Crathie—" They are now so
numerous and domesticated, that they are to be seen
in numbers from the windows of the houses of
Invercauld and Mar-lodge. In May last, 100
stags were seen feeding on the lawn." In 1842 the
present minister of Crathie states that Braemar
forest is let for seven years at a rental of 1,8001. So
mach for road closers: now, as faithful chroniclers,
for the abuses of the opposite system. On Sunday
last the boat-house at Portskill, Roseneath, was set on
tire, and in consequence no boat is in future to be
allowed to land except at the ferry stations. Now,
although the provocation here is great, yet, everybody
acquainted with the Scotch character must know that
Sunday arson could have been the crime of bat very
few persons, and that it is, therefore, somewhat bard '
that the mass should be punished for these very few.
As a contrast to the Hve-pound acre husbandry of
Blair Athol, it may be mentioned that at a farm sale
in Annandale, last week, oats brought 181. per Scotch
acre, and potatoes 511. 2s. 6d. ; carrots, 461.85. ; and
turnips 181. 3s. per imperial acre.
" Give back the money" is the cry now being raised
against the Highland Destitution Board. The work-
men in an Edinburgh establishment have begun the
movement with a series of awkward resolutions, of
which two an appended :

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W.), et a mews el the per When=
were lid^ awl efts they wee ail metope
Wow tely twolleetle el the bey, ise mem ewe), egg bees we vie
to eat toe wary PP* piew, bet to bowl sew OW awe
Pie Wires te the trawirer et Se Sept laftwery,settley wassider
tactbiltedea espillyelleed le the eepeert the dew be WOW
they hiww—Thet, awed the eiewitlee sat party lOW re.
taw is am* with the sursmals lora at the edrorthere, the
ssw.tetWebehwe awls then (eet let.) dal be endorsed over
le the teewerer elite Is* Isimary 110. lode edwr bodies
whetting eirelhei Wept Pe woe pis et Swabs at Weir Ware,
It Wilt Mt welt ble phe erewarer s) arable ht pewee et law
opted the ail eenwattee toe etc recovery.
The robberies in Glasgow still methane, and es the
Mail appears to have been enacting the part of
criminal recorder with troublesome minuteness, it
states this morning that the police have been inter-
dicted from giving it farther information. A Greenock
yaeaAraph throws some light on the importation of
a lt appears that the Trident, of that port,
had picked up at sea a boat with six men. These,
with the boat, the master brought to Greenock, and
after lingering about town for a few days they dis-
appmre& They gave some account of their being
part of a crew of a wrecked vessel, or some such
story; but their true history is no doubt conveyed in
a paragraph in the Bermudian of the 24th ult., which
says, that six of the moat notorious offenders confined
within the walls of Ilamilton gaol had made their
escape. After clearing the wall which surrounds the
gaol they seized upon a small clipper sail-boat, owned
by Lieut. Ramsey, of the 42nd Regiment, and pro-
ceeded to sea. On the forenoon of the morning they
escaped, having got clear early in the morning ; the
government steamer Gleaner was despatched in pur-
suit, but a fine easterly wind had wafted the fleet
little craft so rapidly over the sea that the steamer,
notwithstanding a run of 60 miles after losing sight
of land, had to return without any tidings of the
object of her chase.
The fines inflicted on the Campbelton jurymen by
Lord Justice Clerk Hope are exciting much discus-
sion, and attempts are to be made for the revision of
the circuit system. The circuit towns were fixed

some eentueies ago, when travelling and accommoda-
hme.oifiesjuryaamthene
camandpbewitesseeisna
accommoda-
tion were different from what they now are, and it is
hhavingrreasoned
tone ddt ,c 0,,, thatfri .t: i
world
0i or 1 .bO7:. d;
c.
,-er, and more convenient,
weep the judges to increase the number of trial
towns, and go to the community., instead of the com-
munity going to them.

RAILWAY ACCIDENT AT OLASGOW.—i"olultra PA*:
TICULARB.—It appease that a heavy luggabw train from
Edinburgh was being arranged at the top of the incline by
the parties in charge, that it onitained amongst !Whey lug.
age a quantity of heavy blocks of stone, some of ti em up.~
wards of a ton in weight, and that this train of goods trucka
were let off in the usual way, with the necessary brakes and
brakesmen in front. There was also, it seem, a number of
extpty trucks taken down with the brakes, as on former oc-
casions. Owing to some mistake the empty waggons with
the brakes were not properly coupled, •it coupled at all, to
the heavy train—and the connivent% was that they sepa-
rated, Kadin this way came down the teasel for • time as
two separate trains, the one distinct hunt the other.
There were three men, two at the brakcs,, and the guard
in the foremast waggons trucks, and foe a time they
came down the lice at the usual speed, bet after gaining
• certain ritomrshtnr they were overtaken by the heavy
train, to which they ought to have bean connected, and sent
down the incline at lightning speed. The resale was, that
the men in charge became aware of their danger,. and one of
them leaped off the train as it came oat of the tunnel, aad
fortunately escaped with a few aligbe cuts and. bruises •
another was got near to the ruins of the store, severely
injured ; but M'Arthar, we regret to stale, was carried into
the building, and there met with his death. Tom balding
above the store was not tenanted, and of course no lives were
lost in it, beyond that of the guard ; had it been ishahited,
however, the calamity must have been dreadful. The line
of trucks in all consisted of twenty in number, sod those
thrown up into the storm were the empty ones.
EMIOKATION.—The New Zealand Company intend to
despatch two reverts of 600 tons hurthen eiels, en the 30th
of October neat—one from the Clyde, and the oaks, from
the port of London—with stores and emigrants for their new
settlement, Otago. Each vessel will convey 200 settlers.
THE GALE ON THE. FIRTH OP CLTD6.—Resposting
disasters on the coast, from the ga'e of last week, a cor-
respondent of the Ayr Observer, at Drumlalearra (Arran)
writes : " The brig Margaret, Captain King, from Trinidad
to Clyde, with sugar, came ashore at Tomlin, west side of
this Wand, during the late storm. The cargo is discharging
in a damaged state. On the 19th current the brig Grecian,
of Leith, Captain Hunter, from Archangel to Clyde, took
the sound between Pledda and this island, and at high water
struck on the ridge, and still holds on. They are discharg-
kg the cargo (tar) into the Defiance steamer, to lighten her.
As yet she receives no damage. It is expected that she will
be got off by the neat tide. On Thursday, the 16th instant,
during a heavy gale from the north, the smack Royal Arch,
of Belfast, came to anchor outside the harbour of Dninsore,
where she sustained considerable damage, bat at tide time
got safely into said harbour, and is now nearly repaired and
ready fur sea. Also, on the same day, the schooner Hope,
of Belfast, laden with coals, sprung a leak off the Sears in
Luce Bay, and with much exertion the crew, keeping
close at the pumps, were enahled to get the resod Into
Drumore Harbour, where she is now repaired and ready
for see.