Page:A tour through the northern counties of England, and the borders of Scotland - Volume II.djvu/50

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dred of these freemen enjoy what are called stints, little pieces of meadow reserved out of the corpo- ration lands, and given to the elder burgesses and their widows for life. Their value is different; the highest stint about 15I. the lowest 5I. per annum.

The population of Berwick is about eight thou- sand, who are for the most part employed in the manufacture of damask, sacking, diaper, sail cloth, linen, muslin and cotton, stockings, carpets, felts; and that strong sort of shoe called Cwnberiand ckgs, from their being universally worn in that county the sole and heel are of wood, the for- mer one inch and a quarter, the latter one inch and a half thick, unto which the upper leathers are nailed with tacks; a man's pair cost 4s. a wo- man's 2S. 8d. The trade of Berwick is chiefly coasting between that place and the metropolis. The following late sketch of its present state is both accurate and clear:

" There is a very extensive and regular coasting rrade now carried on between this port and Lon- don; and, without contradiction, there is not such a regular and ready communication between any two places of equal distance in the whole kingdom, nor perhaps in the whole world: this is principally owing to the particular construction of the vessels employed in this trade, their being well found and

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