The attached balance-sheet exhibits a debtor and creditor account, of which the following is a copy: Dr. The TRUSTEES of the WELSH CHURCH of ST. DAVID, L. s. d. To balance carried down, 622 18 9 Cr. (Errors excepted.) Making a deficiency of £994 18 9 Thus it appears, by this statement, that, liberally as the nobility and gentry of Wales, as well as other kind patrons, have subscribed, there is yet a very considerable overplus in the amount of expenditure, as compared with the debtor account. The great exertions made by the Rev. Mr. Davies and the friends of the Institution must, we think, operate beneficially; there are no less than four services performed in St. David's every Sabbath, two in Welsh, and two in Fnglish; those in the latter language, at the periods of the day usual for morning and evening devotion in English churches. Welsh Judicature. At a county meeting, held at the Shire Hall, Carmarthen, on the 23d of October last, to take into consideration the proposed changes in the Welsh Judicature, it was agreed to by a large majority, only seventeen appearing against it, to send petitions to Parliament, praying that the judicature should not be abolished. The following is a copy of the petition addressed to the house of Lords: "To the right honourable the Lords spiritual and temporal in Parliament assembled, the humble Petition of the Freeholders of the county of Carmarthen, at a county meeting assembled, "Sheweth,-That your petitioners have heard with surprise and alarm, the report of 'His Majesty's commissioners, appointed to inquire into the practice and pro ceedings of the superior courts of common law,' relative to the jurisdiction so long established within the Principality of Wales, and the changes in the same recommended by the said commissioners. "That your petitioners, fully sensible of many advantages arising from the peculiar jurisdiction of Wales, and the few inconveniences resulting therefrom, humbly pray that the same may not be abolished; as such abolition cannot be carried into effect without great inconveniences, arising from the consolidation and partition of counties; such abolition will only create a great increase of expence in law proceedings, a delay of justice, and at all events the substitution of an untried system in the Principality in lieu of one well known, beneficial, and adapted to the wants and wishes of the people at large. "That such change is not called for by the people in general, and particularly by such classes as are more immediately interested in a cheap and expeditious administration of justice: namely, the traders, shopkeepers, farmers, drovers, and graziers. "Your Petitioners conclude with reminding your lordships that in no part of his Majesty's dominions has there been, or is there at present, more peace, tran. quillity, and prosperity, existing than in the Principality, which has gradually attained to increased, and still looks to increasing, happiness under the present system of jurisdiction; and which system, if modified and improved, instead of being abolished, may probably arrive at as much perfection as is attainable by most human institutions. "And your petitioners will ever pray." Radnorshire. The proposed changes in the Welsh jurisdiction were taken into consideration on the 24th of October, 1829, at the County Hall of Presteign, by a numerous meeting of magistrates and freeholders of the county of Radnor, who resolved on presenting the following memorial to the Secretary of State for the home department: "The undersigned magistrates and freeholders of the county of Radnor, having had under consideration that part of the report of the commissioners appointed to inquire into the courts of common law, in which it is recommended that the county of Radnor should hereafter be placed within the jurisdiction of the judges ap pointed to hold assizes at Hereford, are desirous of expressing their deliberate opinion, that any change in the administration of justice which would deprive the county of Radnor of an assize held half-yearly, as heretofore, at the town of Presteign, would be highly injurious to the welfare of that county. And your memorialists would prefer the continuance of the great sessions in their present form, to the adoption of any change which would take from them, what they have so long enjoyed, an assize regularly held within the county. "That the Welsh jurisdiction, as it has been administered since the Act of Henry VIII., possesses some advantages which your memorialists are desirous of preser ving. Among these is the action called Concessit solvere, and the facility of obtaining immediate judgment and execution against the effects of a defendant. And your memorialists earnestly desire that, if any improved system of administering justice should be thought worthy of adoption, generally, throughout Great Britain, that nothing should be done to deprive them of these forms of proceeding." Haverfordwest.-At a meeting of the mayor, burgesses, and inhabitants of Haverfordwest, on the 3d of October, to take this important subject into consideration, it was unanimously resolved to petition both houses of Parliament "Against the proposed removal of the great sessions for Pembrokeshire from Haverfordwest to Carmarthen, as tending to subvert the ends of justice, by having their causes tried before a jury, by whom the language of the witnesses would be but imperfectly understood, putting them to a ruinous expence, or submit to the oppression of their more wealthy neighbours, causing a great neglect of their affairs at home during their absence, and subjecting them to frivolous and vexatious actions in the courts of Westminster, from which they are at present protected by Act of Parliament." Cardiganshire.-At a meeting of the freeholders and inhabitants of the county of Cardigan, held, pursuant to public advertisement, at Aberayron, on Wednesday, the 18th of November, to take into consideration the proposed removal of the assizes from Cardigan, and the alteration in the Welsh Judicature, contained in the first Report of the Commissioners of the Superior Courts of Common Law, Morris Davies, Esq. sheriff, in the chair, the following Petition was unanimously agreed to: "To the right honourable the Lords spiritual and temporal, in Parliament assembled, the humble Petition of the Freeholders of the county of Cardigan. "Sheweth,―That your petitioners are of opinion that the system of Judicature established in the Principality of Wales in the reign of King Henry VIII., although in some respects defective, is capable of improvement, without abolition, particularly in the appointment of judges, and possesses certain advantages, the loss of which would be felt as a certain inconvenience by the inhabitants at large. "That we are also of opinion that the constitution of the courts of great sessions in itself requires no alteration; the greatest inconvenience in the administration of the laws within them arising from the principle on which the judges are originally selected, and from there being no retiring pensions, when age and infirmity have rendered their mental and physical powers unequal to the discharge of their duties. That an improvement in these respects is desirable, and, we submit, easily attainable, without having recourse to the violent remedy of abolition. "That we feel satisfied, if the proposed abolition takes place, evils will attach to this county far exceeding any possible advantages that may be supposed to arise from the presence of English judges. In lieu of a cheap and expeditious mode of obtaining justice, a circuitous and expensive one will be substituted, the social intercourse of the county destroyed, a serious check will be given to the march of improvement and the progressive assimilation to English manners and habits, which the periodical visits of the judges in their respective county towns have tended greatly to promote. "Your petitioners, therefore, humbly but earnestly pray your lordships not to sanction any change in the constitution of courts of great sessions, which, according to the proposed plan, will deprive your petitioners of the advantages they now enjoy by the transferring of their courts of justice from their own to neighbouring counties." The meeting was the largest, both as to numbers and respectability ever remembered in the county of Cardigan; and the utmost cordiality prevailed during the interesting discussion which took place on the subject on which the freeholders had assembled to consider and decide. Interesting Blind Minstrel, ‚—a destitute and helpless Woman. To the Editors of the Cambrian Quarterly Magazine. GENTLEMEN, Of all the evils incident to our common race which are permitted by Providence, that of being blind from infancy, and prevented by accident from gaining a livelihood by an acquired profession, appear most calculated to excite our pity. The subject of this paragraph is Maria Roberts, the eldest daughter of a respectable farmer in the neighbourhood of Llanvyllin, in Montgomeryshire. She was attacked by the smallpox at the age of two months, which we believe was the cause of her loss of sight. Her father died when she was very young, and, owing to losses in his profession, without having made any provision for his blind daughter's maintenance. At the age of sixteen, through the humanity of a friend, she was taught to play upon the Welsh harp, in which she made such proficiency, as to be able to instruct others; and she was engaged in different families of respectability, for that purpose, several years. What prevented her from following her profession, was the misfortune she met with in disabling a finger of her left hand, by a fall in endeavouring to avoid the meeting of a carriage on the public road, which prevented her playing with her usual effect. Her mother contributed towards her maintenance for some time; and her brother paid also for her board, with a verbal promise of rendering pecuniary assistance for a stated number of months longer; and when that term expires, (if not expired already,) she is to expect nothing from him.. In this dilemma, she has but two alternatives, either to procure friends to lay her distressing case before those who have the will and the means of relieving her, or to apply for maintenance from the parish where her settlement lies. This is hard indeed to her who had experienced better days; and, considering her delicate frame and sensibility of feeling, her friends have advised her to adopt the former alternative; and the writer of this memoir is sanguine in her expectations, that this unfortunate blind minstrel will meet with that liberality which has ever been the characteristic of a British public. Her character is, and always was, irreproachable. In Nicholson's Cambrian Traveller's Guide, under the article Oswestry, where she then resided, is the following item: "Maria Roberts, a respectable young woman from Montgomeryshire, plays upon a Welsh harp with great taste, and occasionally accompanies the instrument with her own peculiarly sweet voice." The late Lady Torrington interested herself much in her behalf, and got an application made for an annuity for her from the Bristol Fund, bequeathed by J. Merlott, esq. deceased, but without success, as M. Roberts was then but forty years of age. She is now in her fifty-third year, and admissible upon the list of expectants in every point of view, were some kind-hearted Bristolian to apply for her to the mayor and aldermen of that corporation, who are the trustees of the charity. And, in the mean time, it is a "consummation devoutly to be wished" that a subscription should be opened in London, as well as in the Principality; and that the amount, when collected, should be applied in such a manner as to create an annuity sufficient to keep the subject of this appeal above want. The truth of the above statements would be confirmed, if necessary, by the Rev. J. Lloyd, rector of Llanervil, Montgomeryshire, or any other clergyman in the neighbourhood of that place. I will leave the furthering of this case in your hands, gentlemen, and remain yours, &c. December 14, 1829. JULIA. [Our pages must not in future be devoted to articles of this nature, no such appropriation of them shall occur; but we are sure our readers will attribute our sympathy, in the case of this unfortunate, to the right motive, in this peculiar instance of destitution of a member of a profession so inoffensive, so ennobling in its tendency, so interwoven with our noblest associations: to those whose bosoms are thus impressed, we need not apply; to those who cannot feel emotion at the tones of our native wild harp, 'tis useless. Any donations sent to us, shall be immediately forwarded to the friend of “poor Maria,” and an acknowledgment of the same given in our next number.-EDITORS.] Radnorshire County Hall. A Committee of the magistrates of the county of Radnor, having been appointed to inspect and report upon the completion of the building of the County Hall and Judges' Lodgings, lately erected, have stated, in their official Report, that the execution reflects great credit on the contractors, Messrs. Haycock, of Shrewsbury, with respect to their ability and skill as architects, and as to their integrity as individuals; and the Report has been fully confirmed by the magistrates of the county. It is understood that upwards of 7,000l. have been expended in erecting the edifice, evincing considerable public spirit in the inhabitants of so small a county. Carmarthenshire County Hall. A new building has been recently erected for the accommodation of the Grand Jurors, Clerk of the Peace, and other public officers of the county of Carmarthen, immediately adjoining the Guildhall, with which it communicates; and, together with the improvements lately effected in the Hall, renders the place much more commodious for the administration of public justice, and reflects great credit on the taste and liberality of the county of Carmarthen. Chain Bridge at Pont Kemeys. Three miles of road above the town of Usk is completed: when the new line of communication is formed, the distance from Abergavenny to Usk will be shortened two miles, and the road will be far less hilly between those towns and Bristol. The bridge, according to the statement, is a fine specimen of pontifical suspension architecture. Among the Arundel Manuscripts, a list of which was given in a recent Number of the Literary Gazette, exchanged by the Royal Society for duplicate books of science, formerly in the British Museum, are several rare copies of writings of old Welsh authors, particularly two of Jeffrey of Monmouth, two of Giraldus Cambrensis, and a register of the Abbey of Glastonbury. This exchange will be highly advantageous to both institutions, for these rare documents were perfectly foreign to the objects of the Society who possessed them; and, comparatively speaking, accessible to but few persons: the reverse of this will be the case when deposited in the national collections; there they will be accessible to all who wish to consult them, whilst the Royal Society, without the outlay of money, will acquire many works of a rare and costly kind, which they would be able by no other means to obtain. Waste Land. The following is a Table of the larger quantities of waste land, and counties containing the same, in the United Kingdom, about two thirds of which are |