Page:The National Gazetteer - A Topographical Dictionary of the British Islands, Volume 1.djvu/892

Rh 882 I MM;n;<;il,siiiKF. and the remaining onc-tliird hilly grounds, inac- cessible, to tin; plough. Tho north, m anil w- lections of the county are on the whole fertile and richly cultivated, being chiefly arable, while the southern and south-eastern sections are i hiefly ] ,i-tonil. In ancient times the greater part of the fertile lands were covered with forest, and were occupied by tribes called the Ottadent and (jnil.ni, vim were subsequently van- quished by the Koinans, and tin ir territory included within the pro-, r the departure of the Romans, viz. in 44'J, it was con- quered by the Saxons, and funned part of the kingdom of Northumbria, till overrun by the Scoto-Irish in 843, who came in from the W., and acquired entire ascendency, as i.- evidenced by the nrpcnndQciian of Gaelic names upon Anglo-Saxon ones. In 1020 this, together with the adjoining counties, was ceded to Malcolm II., and was amalgamated, with the rest of Scotland, by David I., who made it shire ground. This monarch did much for the improvement of agriculture and horticulture, becoming himself the greatest fanner in Mid-l."thi.in, and maintaining many agricultural his charter to Holyrood. Kdward II 1., during his occupa- tion of Scotland, carried agricultural improvements further, by clearing the forests, and alleviating the con- dition of the cultivators of the soil, who held their farms by a strange tenure called the "steel bow," by which they were bound to deliver up all they possessed whenever they vacated their farms. This system for long retarded all permanent improvement ; and it was not till the close of the 18th century that agriculture had advanced beyond a very rude state, though the greater part of the county is well adapted for tillage. The farms, which are now lot on lease of nir is, are of medium size, well adapted for the scientific system of high farming, for which the Lothians are so justly famed. The lands immediately around the capital are laid out in nui - market gardens, and orchards, with occasional patches of meadow land, for the pasturing of cows to supply the city w ith milk ; those beyond and to the W. arc planted in iwtatoes, turnips, and clover, all being kept in a high elate of luxuriance by the judicious application of sewage manure, conveyed from the city chiefly by means of the Union canal ; on the more distant arable lands wheat is chiefly cultivated, with barley, oats, r, and green crops up the hill sides. The old valuation rental of the county was 15,921 ; the new valuation for 1861, 376,498, exclusive of railways, which give an addition of 71,045. The assessment lor prisons is Ijrf., for police and rogue money ltd., in the pound. The general character of the soil is clayey, though much diversified with sand, loam, and gravel, which are all frequently met w ith in the same field ; in other parts moorland and moss occur, but these are not unfrequcntly rendered subservient to cultivation, while in tls :>ii Is to the 8. and 8.E., and along thn i, the unploiighablo lands are covered with short sweet pasture, admirably adapted for sheep, iiieh large Hocks are kept. The chief ranges of hills are the IVntlands, extending from the confines of loss the county, to within -1 miles of iiurgh, and, in places, rising 1,800 feet above the en It i various points of this range a magnifi- . iew i> obtained, taking in almost the whole ..t the y, with its richly cultivatid plains, iiuml K, and old country seats, half hidden in the well- wooded parks which surround them. The Sloorfoot hills also enter Innu IVeblesshire, forming a continua- tion of the l.amincnuuir hills, and {x-nctrutu the county iinbiirgh in two lines, running N.K. and > I lie !.ee| ;1 l I, lief hilly ehail Conrtorphino Hill, anil the remarkable con K, , enviionini; the capital, inrluding Arthur's The rivers, or rath i water the county, ure the Ek, the Almond- l.'ith, the Tyne. and the (Jala, with it tiihiit.-uit s tli.. II. riot and the I.iiggate. Although these streams ore too .- nit of navi- gation, tlje county is well supplied with the facilii watir carriage by means of the Union canal, nnd the -tuary of the Forth, which washes the whole of the N. boundary of the county, and is from 7 to 12 miles broad, abounding in herrings,' white lish, and shell-fish. Along the shore of the frith are situated the important towns of Musselburgh and PortobcUo, both of which are resorted to in the summer months as bathing-places; also the ports of Lcith and Ctranton, from which the steamers sail, and to the Conner of which 43 steamers, with a total tonnage of 8,383, and 138 sailing-vessels, with a tonnage of 21,585, were registered as belonging in 1861. Musselburgh is a fishing station, ami th. port for the shipping of coal which is worked in valley of the North Esk, the bed extending across the county from Carlops to Musselburgh, and being, in places, from 2 to 15 feet in thickness. The qu.i- annually raised yields a royalty of 12,000 to the pro- pi i. -tors of the mines. Edinburgh, the capital of !- land, is the county town, and the only royal burgh in -Mid- Lothian. It returns two members to the imperial parliament, and, with Dalkeith and Mid-Calder, is a IHjlling-placo for the county, which returns one member, and had, in 1860, a constituency of l,!rJ2. The seaport towns of Lcith, 1'ortobello, and Musselburgh are muni- cipal and parliamentary burghs, together n turning one member to parliament. Dalkeith is a burgh of barony ; Canongate and Portsburgh burghs of reg;t besides which there are about 165 villages and him 1 Tho county is divided, for civil purposes, into 48 parishes, with parts of 2 others, nnd is governed by a lord-lieutenant, vice-lieutenant, sheriff, sheriff-sub- stitute, and 22 deputy-lieutenants. The court of lieu- tenancy comprises 6 districts. The sheriffs' courts are held at Edinburgh and I-cith, and a monthly cii court at Dalkeith. The justices of peace hold courts monthly for the recovery of small d< r the administration- of the roads tnists. '1 divisions coincide with the civil, except thai besides the 48 quoad ricilia parishes, 4 quoad taen parishes, and 19 chapels-of-eose. These are all prised within the synod of Lothian and Tw. . constitute the presbyteries of Edinburgh and Dalkiith, with 2 parishes in the presbytery of Linlithg< the Established Church, which has al Tehee and chapels within the county, th. Free Church, I'nited rri.shytcrian, Ucfonned Presbyterian, Original Soccden, Episcopalians, Independents, liaptisls. Society of !'] Unitarians, V. -1, y m Methodists, Primitive Methodist*. Olassites, New Church, Itonuin Catholic, Catholi Apostolic Church, and Jews, have phi,. ^ of woi There are also l.'l meeting-houses belonging to iso congregations. The average stipend of mini Established Church in the country districts the city of Edinburgh and Lcith Iron; 4'' The number of day schools in Edinhurghshi' 500, oxclusivoof evening and Sabbath schools. Jn the number of the police force in Edinburgh wa- in I,eith 31, and in the country di.-tn ;ng a total of llii i"i tin- county. The number of criminal prisoners confined within the county prisons nt Edin- burgh and in the court buildings was 5,665 during the year 1858-9. The number of p. r.vms brought i the. judges of police in Edinburgh in 1856 was !>. in ls.'i7, *,"'"'-; in 1 >.'>>. S.650 : the number punisl- was 5,748; in is.'.:, o.lf.iO ; in 1 - number of persons found drunk in the streets of Edin- burgh and kept by the police till they were sober, and the number who wire drunk when apprehended for crimes and ofli-nccs, was, in 1856, 7,73G ; in 1M;')7, 7 in 1858, 8,308. The number of drunken persons 1 charge of by the jK.licc on Saturdays, Sundays, and Mondays w;U. in 1856, 3,365; in 1857, 3,530; and in 1858, 3,742. For the year ended 14th May, 1859, the returns of the Poor-law ( 'ommissiunen show that were at that time '.', '-""> jieimanent or regi-' poor within tin eountv, costing a total expenditure < ml poor, costing il,766. The number of pauper lunatics in the same year was 596,
 * -hiii. m.-. including th nnn ntinedin