g|Derry. Tyrone. Fermanagh. Dublin. argicultural implements, detailing the respective merits. of each. "5. One of the more advanced pupils will be selected weekly to act as superintendent; the dietary account, the labourers' book, and the account of the employment of the pupils are to be kept by him in the manner fixed on by the Committee, and these books are to be regularly laid before them at their meetings. "Unobtrusive on the public, and perhaps culpably so, as the Committee may appear to have been in their statements, they would appeal to the annexed return of the pupils admitted since May 1827, and the names of the counties whence they came : "Table of Pupils admitted to Seminary since opening, and the Counties whence they came. 155 52 25 11 7 3 3 51 "Pupils in Seminary on 1st September 1838, and the Counties whence they came. 25 10 2 2 3 2 6 1 5 3 1 64 Although the seminary was originally intended for the education of young men destined for agricultural pursuits, yet the Committee have to state that several individuals have availed themselves of the advantage derived from the course of education there pursued, to qualify Total. themselves for other avocations; and of those who have already left the seminary, 29 are employed as Land Stewards, 2 5 1 8 6 1 2 124 as Assistant Agents, -- as Schoolmasters, as Principal of an Agricultural Day School, as Writing Clerks, as Shopkeepers, as Civil Engineer, as Assistants to County Surveyors, at home in Agricultural Pursuits, 32 have emigrated to America, West Indies, and Australia, 39 left seminary since September 1835, not having remained 12 months, and 64 remain in seminary on 1st September 1838. "The Committee have the gratification of stating that in every instance, when young men have been sent from the seminary with the necessary certificates of qualification, they have been found to give entire satisfaction to those by whom they have been employed; and in those cases when they are engaged in farming at home, it is satisfactory to know they are imparting the knowledge which they had obtained at Templemoyle to their friends and neighbourhood." B. F. DUPPA. 87 STATE OF THE PEASANTRY IN THE COUNTY OF KENT.* In the discussions in parliament respecting the late extraordinary occurrences in Kent, reflecting persons must have been struck with the importance attached to the fact of the liberation of the lunatic who was the chief actor in those scenes, in preference to what all must feel should be the proper subject for consideration, viz. the condition of the population amongst whom such events could take place. Is it to be supposed that the peace and order of society are to depend so materially upon the vigilance with which madmen are guarded? And when a considerable portion of the population of a district has been led into the commission of grave offences against the laws, are we to receive as an explanation for their conduct, that a lunatic has been imprudently liberated? These questions answer themselves. The proper subject of inquiry, for whatever reasons evaded, was evidently that which has just been stated, the actual condition of the population of the district in question. To ascertain this point before the interest awakened by the late events should subside, appeared to the Central Society of Education an object of primary importance. There was reason to hope that the existence of such an interest would insure to the minute, but important, details upon which the information sought for must be grounded, that attention which, under ordinary circumstances, it is so difficult to obtain for them. At the request of the Committee, the writer of the following pages (a member of the Society) undertook to visit the district in question, for the purpose of conducting the proposed investigation. The alarm and excitement produced by this * A few errors have been pointed out in the statements contained in paper. In order that the public may judge of the degree of their importance, the original text is preserved, and corrections are made in foot notes.-EDITOR. 88 STATE OF THE PEASANTRY the disturbances had not ceased at the period of his arrival in the neighbourhood; and the appearance of a stranger going from cottage to cottage, and making minute inquiries, created at first some mistrust. Several persons concerned in the disturbances were in prison awaiting their trials, and their families were naturally suspicious that the information so collected might be used to their prejudice. These alarms, however, were generally dissipated by an open statement of the motives and objects of the inquirer. No sooner were these understood by many, than they seemed anxious to render every assistance in their power. That some, especially those who were conscious of unatoned delinquencies, should preserve their mistrust of all inquiry, was natural; but there is no cause to doubt that even these gave, in the main, correct answers to the questions put to them concerning the actual condition of their families and themselves. Indeed, in most cases their answers were confirmed by the personal observation of the writer; and, where that was not possible, by comparison of the accounts of others in similar situations, and by the testimony of neighbours. With very few exceptions, the whole of the persons implicated in the late events belonged to the parishes of Herne-hill and Boughton, and the ville of Dunkirk, an extra-parochial district bordering upon both the abovenamed parishes. Of these, by far the greater number were from Herne-hill; Dunkirk furnished the next largest proportion; while that from Boughton, which is much more populous than either of the preceding, was very inconsiderable. Of the persons killed, five were from Herne-hill, two from Dunkirk, and only one from Boughton; and of the fourteen now in confinement awaiting their trial, ten are from Herne-hill, none from Dunkirk, two from Boughton, and the remaining two from the neighbouring parishes of Selinge and Whitstable. These facts determined the writer to confine his inquiries to the three first-mentioned places, Herne-hill, Dunkirk, and Boughton. The scenery of this district is peculiarly English. Gently rising hills, and picturesque vales, covered with a rich herbage, or bearing the show of a minute and skilful husbandry, succeed to each other. Fields of waving corn are interspersed with gardens, hop-grounds, and orchards. What pity that the moral condition of the inhabitants of so fair a spot should stand, as will be seen, in such mournful contrast with its order and beauty! The circumstances of this lamentable outbreak have been so often and so minutely detailed, and are still so fresh in the recollection of the reader, that it would be a waste of time to repeat them here. It is sufficient to say upon this point, that the results of the investigation agree with the statements of fact put forth by the journals. But as the existence of the gross ignorance and delusion to which they have been attributed, has been much questioned by many, I shall, previously to submitting the results of the statistical inquiries, first show that, improbable as the credulity and ignorance of those who could be deluded by the monstrous imposture and absurd pretensions of Thoms may be, they did most undeniably exist. For the purpose of ascertaining the truth with regard to this important point, the writer of these pages questioned almost every person with whom he came in contact in cottages, in beer-shops, and the fields; and their testimony was all concurrent to the effect, that the greater part of Thoms' followers believed him to be Jesus Christ, and considered that they were not only justified in obeying him as their lord, but that disobedience would entail upon them eternal damnation. Once being in a beer-shop in Dunkirk, where four or five persons were present, the writer expressed, in the course of conversation, some hesitation to give credence to the existence of this belief. Several of them affirmed that there was no doubt at all about the matter, and that they had often conversed with believers in Thoms' divinity, who had begged them, as they minded their salvation, to join them. Incredulity upon the point was still affected, when a dark-looking person, a charcoal-burner, who had thitherto been silent, said with some earnestness, "Well, sir, I suppose seeing is believing. A man as I knows well, heard Sir William preach, and then he giv' 'em all the sacrament, and after that he anoints himself |