LEITH

LEITH, although an independent burgh, may be considered the seaport of Edinburgh, from which it is only about a mile and a half distant. The Water of Leith, at its confluence with the Firth of Forth, divides the town into two parts, called respectively, North and South Leith. The first mention made of Leith is in the charter of erection of Holyrood Abbey, founded by David I. in 1128, where it is styled Inverleith. The magistrates of Edinburgh obtained a grant of the harbour and mills from Robert I. in 1329, and they subsequently purchased, from Logan of Restalrig, all the other rights and privileges. Its municipal government and admiralty jurisdiction continued in their hands until the year 1833, when the Burgh Reform Act conferred on Leith the right of electing its own magistrates, and the management of its own municipal affairs.

From the earliest times down to a recent period there existed a petty rivalry between the inhabitants of Leith and Edinburgh, an evidence of which was given so early as the year 1485, when the magistrates of Edinburgh, to prevent the citizens of Leith competing with them in trade, passed an act ordaining that no merchant of Edinburgh should presume to take into partnership an inhabitant of Leith under the penalty of 40 shillings Scots, and the loss of the freedom of the city. The civil and political history of Leith is thus so united with that of the metropolis that most of the leading events are described in the account of the latter. Its importance as the principal channel for the admission of troops and supplies made the possession of it an object with the conflicting parties during the turbulent period of the Reformation, and the subsequent contests for ascendancy between the supporters and enemies of the Stuart family.

As Edinburgh was the stronghold of the Protestant party, Leith was that of the Roman Catholic party, who, headed by Mary of Guise, then Regent of Scotland, and assisted by a body of French soldiers, sustained within it, in the year 1560, a siege of two months.

The modern streets of Leith are spacious and well built, but the older ones are irregular and contracted. The principal buildings are the Exchange, the Custom-house, the Town-house, the church of South Leith (one of the few ancient Gothic buildings now used in Scotland for public worship), and the Forts, one of the military stations of the United Kingdom for a small body of artillery.

The chief manufactures of Leith are ropes, sailcloth, locomotive engines and machinery, glass, soap, ale, refined sugar, and oil-seed cakes. Iron and timber ship-building is also carried on to a considerable extent.

Various efforts have from time to time been made to overcome the natural obstacles that lay in the way of Leith as a shipping port. In 1720 a dock was formed on the E. side of the river, and in 1777 a small quay called the Custom-house quay was built. Between 1800 and 1817, two wet docks were constructed, each measuring 750 feet in length by 300 in width, and having a united area of about 10 acres. In 1831 two great additional works were undertaken, viz., an addition to the old or E. pier of 500 yards, and the formation of a covering bulwark, by means of which the water in the channel was deepened about two feet. There were still, however, only 17 feet of water over the bar at its mouth at high-water spring tides, and no vessel

of above 400 tons could enter the harbour without lightening. Farther improvements were commenced in 1848, and completed in 1855. These included the formation of the Victoria Dock, equal in extent to either of the others; the new western pier and low-water landing slip; the extension of the eastern pier 1000 feet seaward. The length of the E. pier is now 3530 feet, and of the W. 3123 feet. They are unsurpassed by any in the kingdom; and, in addition to other important purposes, afford the means of a healthful and pleasant promenade. By means of these improvements, a depth of 26 feet water has been obtained in the new harbour at high-water spring, and of 21 feet at neap, tides. The Victoria Dock has 25 feet water at spring, and 20 feet at neap, tides; upon the gate sill, and two feet more within the dock; and the two old docks have 18 feet at spring, and 13 feet at neap, tides. Vessels of upwards of 2000 tons burden, of 320 feet in length and 58 feet in breadth, can be accommodated in the Victoria Dock.

There are also five dry or graving docks at Leith, of the following dimensions:—

A new graving dock of greater capacity is proposed to be made on the E. sands, and to enter the present new harbour a little to the N. of the entrance to Victoria Dock. The following are its proposed dimensions. Length of floor 300 feet, at top 330 feet; width of floor 45 feet, at top, 80 feet; of caisson, 72 feet; depth of water over sills at high-water springs, 24 feet 5 inches.

Besides having regular steam communication with Rotterdam, Hamburg, Hull, London, Newcastle, and the north of Scotland, Leith trades largely with the Baltic, Mediterranean, North America, and Australia. The exports are principally coal, iron, spirits, ale, paper, linen yarn, &c. Of coal and iron the quantities exported during the last three years were as follows:—

The principal import is grain, of which the quantity imported during the last three years is given in the following table. After grain and timber the chief articles of import are hemp, flax, wool, linseed, oilcakes, guano, agricultural seeds, butter, cheese, fruit, corkwood, wines, spirits, oil, sugar, tea, &c.:

The amount of customs duties received at Leith for the last four years were,—1853, L.485,915; 1854, L.455,403; 1855, L.462,917; and 1856, L.498,172. The vessels registered as belonging to the port on 31st December 1855, were,—sailing vessels, of and under 50 tons, 71; tonnage, 2218; above 50 tons, 80; tonnage, 17,058;—steam vessels, of and under 50 tons, 14; tonnage, 289; above 50 tons, 23;

tonnage, 6654. The recent war with Russia has checked the increase in the trade that would otherwise have resulted from the greatly enlarged accommodation.

Leith is governed by a provost, 4 bailies, and 10 councillors; and unites with Portobello and Musselburgh in returning a member to Parliament. Pop. (1851) 30,919; constituency, 1375.

Leitmeritz LEITMERITZ, a town of Austria, capital of a cognominal circle in Bohemia, on the right bank of the Elbe, here crossed by a long bridge, and on the Prague and Dresden Railway, 48 miles N. by W. of the former, and 69 S. by E. of the latter. It is the seat of a bishop, and contains a cathedral of the eleventh century, a town-house, hospital, a college, and a theological school. Coach-building, and the making of straw hats and musical instruments, are carried on. It has also a brisk trade in the wine and grain of its fertile neighbourhood. Pop. 7100.

Leitrim LEITRIM, a county of the province of Connaught, in Ireland, bounded N. by the bay and the county of Donegal, E. by the counties of Fermanagh and Cavan, S. by those of Longford and Roscommon, and W. by Roscommon and Sligo. Its only claim to be considered a maritime county is the possession of 3 miles of coast on the Bay of Donegal. In shape it has been compared to an hour-glass, broad at both ends, and contracted in the centre. Its greatest length, measured from S.E. to N.W., is 52 miles; its breadth where broadest is 20, and where narrowest not more than 7 miles; extending over an area of 613 square miles, or 392,363 acres, of which 249,350 are arable, 115,869 uncultivated, 3396 in plantations, and 23,748 are under water. Of the 116,000 acres of uncultivated land, 55,500 are coarse pasture above 800 feet over sea level, 60,500 coarse pasture below 800 feet, including flow bogs, &c.; 30,000 are improvable for cultivation, 36,000 improvable for pasture, and 50,000 acres are incapable of improvement.

The county, which derives its name from an ancient but now obscure village on the Shannon, is supposed to have formed part of the region inhabited by the tribe of the Nagnatæ in the time of Ptolemy. The Irish chroniclers distinguish it by the name of Hy-Brunne-Brefine, or Brennie. The family of O'Rourke, which derived its descent from Roderic, King of Ireland, held in it the rank of chieftains; and under them were the O'Murreys, M'Loghlin, M'Glanchie, and M'Granells. It was made shire-ground, together with the other counties in Connaught, during the reign of Queen Elizabeth; and is now divided into the five baronies of Carrigallen, Dromahaire, Leitrim, Mohill, and Rosclogher. These baronies are subdivided into seventeen parishes, of which ten are in the diocese of Kilmore, and seven in that of Ardagh. The county is in the Connaught circuit, and the assizes are held at Carrick-on-Shannon, which is the station of the county inspector of constabulary. For poor-law purposes, Leitrim is divided into the unions of Manor-Hamilton, Mohill, and Carrick-on-Shannon, and small portions are included in the neighbouring unions of Bawnboy and Ballyshannon.

The climate is not only colder than the more southern counties, but also more moist, owing to the number and height of the mountains with which the greater part of its surface is overspread. The whole of the northern part of the county is mountainous. Lugnacuilcagh, the most elevated of the mountains, rises to the height of 1485 feet; Benbo is 1365 feet high; Lacka, 1315; the Green Mountain, 950 feet. More southerly are Slieve-an-Ierin and Bencrois. Large tracts of ground comparatively level are to be found in the southern part of the county, the greater part of which is well wooded, fertile, and abounding in picturesque scenery. The soil in general is stiff, heavy, cold, and wet. The tops and sides of most of the hills are covered with a thin ferruginous loam, based upon a hard gravel. The valleys, which are in general well watered, are of a quality superior to the hills, deeper in mould, and much more fertile. The more level tracts, already noticed, are a dark rich soil on a limestone bottom.

The county is not more remarkable for its mountains than for its lakes. The principal is Lough Allen, situate in its centre, where narrowest. It is 8 miles long from N.

to S., and 4 where broadest, and may be looked upon as the great reservoir and distributor of all the running water in the county, and the embryo feeder of every canal that may be made to traverse it. Squalls on this lake are violent, and render boating on it hazardous. Lough Allen is not in itself an interesting, or beautiful, or picturesque lake; neither is the scenery on its banks sufficiently bold to make the smallest approach to grandeur; it is merely wild and solitary. It is embosomed in hills of moderate elevation, not picturesque in their outline, nor clothed with wood, and contains a few islets. A few miles to the N. is Lough Clean, or Belhovel Lake, which covers an area of 345 acres, and discharges its waters into Lough Allen by a stream of some magnitude. Several smaller sheets of water are scattered throughout the southern baronies. On the borders are Lough Gill, Lough Melvyn, Lough Cane, and Lough Boffin. The source of the Shannon is a matter of doubt among the local topographers; by some it is placed in the recesses of the Leitrim Hills, where it is said to spring with nearly its full power from a vast gulf, the depth of which has not yet been ascertained; and almost immediately expanding, forms Lough Allen, of which the area is 8900 acres. Issuing from the southern extremity of Lough Allen, this noble river, which is here but 146 feet above the level of the sea, forms the western boundary of the county. The Bonnet rises near Lough Clean, and after a course of about 15 miles through picturesque scenery, falls into Lough Gilly. The small rivers, Bundrows and Brinduff, which separate Leitrim from Donegal and Sligo, contain between their mouths the scanty line of sea-coast belonging to the county. Many other streams, too small to be particularly noticed, and discharging themselves into some of the numerous lakes or larger rivers, afford a copious and perennial supply of water.

The central parts of the county form part of the great Connaught coalfield, which occupies also large portions of the counties of Roscommon, Sligo, and a part of Cavan in Ulster. Before a committee of the House of Commons, Mr Griffith stated that there are three beds of coal in the Lough Allen district, the upper 9 inches, the second 3 feet, and the third also 3 feet. The quality of the coal is not so good as that of either Whitehaven or Newcastle; it is a kind of medium between the open burning, or quick blazing coal of Scotland, and the caking coal of Whitehaven, and is very good for culinary and manufacturing purposes. The principal vein in this county is in Bencrois Mountain, the summit of which is bog. Iron-ore abounds in the Slieve-an-Ierin, or Iron Mountain, so called from the stores of this valuable metal which it contains. On its northern side, where its flanks have been torn by winter torrents, the metal shows itself in considerable quantities, imbedded in strata of limestone. Alternations of shale and sandstone, containing beds of coal, succeed on this and other mountains of sufficient altitude; for it would appear that such a formation had originally extended over the entire district, and that the absence of those members from the lower mountains has been owing to their removal by some abrading and denuding force. At present they remain only on the summits of Slieve-an-Ierin, Lugnacuilcagh, Lackagh, and the highest part of the Munterkenney range; and the occurrence of coal in lumps through the sandstone, gravel, and blue clay hills of the south and south-eastern parts of the county, confirms the supposition that a portion of the coal formation has been removed, and points to the N.W. as the direction from which the denuding agent must have proceeded.

The ore in this county is considered as richer than that found in the Arigna valley in Roscommon. It was at one time attempted to be worked, but the failure of timber, and the want of a regular supply of mineral coal, put a stop to the operations. Indications of the same ore are to be found

Leitrim. in several other parts of the mountainous district, and even in the interior of the plain country, near the Shannon. Lead has been found near Lurganboy. Upon the N. side of Benbo Mountain are pits whence copper has been extracted. Manganese is also found in considerable quantities, as is pipe-clay, yellow ochre, white and brown chinks, clays of various hues, and sand suited for the manufacture of glass. The substratum of the parts of the county N. and S. of the coal and iron district is chiefly limestone, interspersed occasionally with sandstone. Benbo is granitic. The quantity of bog is estimated to occupy 7234 acres. Its general depth is 30 feet, and it rests on a stratum of marl or blue clay. The highest level of any of the bogs above the Shannon at Lough Reagh is 114 feet, that of the lowest 29. All are so far elevated as to admit of drainage. There is a sulphureous spa at Drumna, formerly in high repute for cutaneous disorders, and considered more effective than that of Swanlinbar. There are also others of the same quality at Annaghduff, Meelock, and Attymanus, and in some other places. Cavan Spa is a chalybeate, issuing from the southern part of a peninsula in the N. of Lough Allen. Oakfield Spa, likewise chalybeate, is near the sea. Both are visited for their supposed sanative qualities.

The population, like that of every other part of Ireland, was progressively on the increase ever since any series of systematic observations have been directed to ascertain it, until the last decennial period. The following are the most authentic statements:—

It appears, therefore, that between 1841 and 1851 the population of Leitrim decreased 28 per cent., or 8 per cent. more than the decrease which took place in the whole of Ireland.

This population was represented in the Irish House of Commons by six members,—two for the county at large, and two for each of the close boroughs of Carrick-on-Shannon and Jamestown. At the Union the boroughs were disfranchised, and compensation to the amount of L.15,000 awarded to the Earl of Leitrim for Carrick-on-Shannon, or, as it was then called, Carrick-Drumrush; and for Jamestown, L.7500; to Gilbert King, Esq., and to the Rev. John King, archdeacon of Killala, and the sovereign and burgesses of the burgh of Jamestown, L.7500. Since the Union no change has been made in the number of representatives, and the county now sends but two members to the imperial parliament.

The state of public education, as collected from the parliamentary inquiries in 1821 and 1824–26, may be inferred from the following table:—

Of the numbers in the latter of these returns, 2147 were of the Established church, 27 were Dissenters, 7757 Roman Catholics, and 1204 whose religious persuasion could not be ascertained. The total number of schools was 242, of which twenty-one, educating 1181 pupils, were maintained by grants of public money; sixty-four, educating 3113, derived their support from private contributions; and the remaining 157 schools, educating 6841 pupils, were supported wholly by the fees of those who received instruction in them.

The number of pupils attending each description of school,

in 1851, was ascertained, by the Census Commissioners, to have been:—

These numbers state the average attendance of pupils during one week; but from the family returns it appears, that the number actually receiving instruction was 12,303; i.e., 6423 males, and 5780 females. The condition of the entire population of the county, above five years of age, as regards rudimentary education, in 1851, was ascertained to be as follows:—

The quantity of land under tillage is small, and the plough little used, excepting in the champaign districts. In the other parts the mode of culture is still, to some extent, by the loy, a narrow spade with a long handle. The hills are generally steep, and, though abounding with stones, are tough, and retentive of moisture. The loy penetrates into this species of soil more easily than the common broad spade, and the length of its handle serves as a lever to overcome the resistance of the tenacious soil. Potatoes are planted with a steven, which is a stake about four feet long and three inches in diameter, tapering to a point at the lower end, near which a cross piece is fixed to rest the foot on whilst pressing the implement into the ground. The seed is dropped into the hole thus made, which is then filled up with mould. Oats are the general crop; barley is but little grown; rye and wheat still less. Flax forms a part of the usual rotation of crops. There are about 14,400 holdings above one acre in extent, and of this number more than 11,500 contain less than 30 acres. There are also about 500 cottiers, or persons holding less than one acre of land.

The extent of land under crops, and the number of acres under each species of crop, in 1854, 1855, and 1856, was as follows:—

Tillage farms are small; those for grazing are of considerable size, and are sometimes held by several tenants in common. The grasses are mostly natural, and in general excellent, producing fat and well-flavoured meat, and excellent milk and butter. Dairies of large size are seldom to

Leitrim. he met with, but every small farmer produces butter to dispose of at some of the neighbouring markets. Green food is seldom used. The cattle are housed in some parts from December to May, whilst in others they are left out during the winter.

The quantity of each of the chief descriptions of live stock in the county, in 1854, 1855, and 1856, was:—

The usual fence is a drain, backed at one side with a bank of clammy aluminous earth, 3 or 4 feet high. The ditch thus made soon hardens into a consistency nearly equal to brick, and answers every purpose of fencing, except against sheep, in which case it is topped with brushwood. Stone walls are few. Hawthorn hedges are to be met with in some parts. Manures are rich and abundant. Every part has a command of limestone, either solid, or in gravel or marl. The farmers living upon the confined verge of sea-coast within the county industriously take advantage of the sea-weeds, shells, and gravel found there. Much attention is paid to the collection of every kind of manure. The farm-houses are generally long, narrow buildings, of one storey high, with a yard before them, of which the offices form the sides. The repairs are usually made by the landlord, a custom very uncommon in other counties. Leases are generally for three lives, or thirty-one years. Non-alienation clauses are common, and the tenant is sometimes bound down to manure a certain portion of the land.

The manufactures are confined to that of coarse linen, the weaving of which is carried on to some extent. Manufactories of coarse pottery exist about Leitrim and Dromahaire. The only navigable river by which an inland trade can be carried on is the Shannon, the navigation of which, consisting of a series of lakes, short canals, and the magnificent river itself, forms a water communication from Lough Allen to Limerick, and to Dublin by its connection with the Royal Canal at Tarrmonbarry. "The proposed most important line of inland navigation which would connect the Ulster Canal and Lough Erne with the Shannon at Leitrim has not been undertaken. The importance of this connection may be estimated by a glance at the map, when it will be seen that the network of inland navigation of the N.E. of Ireland, is separated from the water communications of the S. and centre by the tract which this canal would intersect, and that, consequently, the two systems of traffic, now isolated, would by it be placed in connection. Limerick would thus come into direct communication with Enniskillen and Ballyshannon, on the western, and with Belfast on the eastern coast of Ulster, and a total line of 716 miles of inland navigation be opened out." (Industrial Resources of Ireland, by Sir Robert Kane.)

The general food of the peasantry is potatoes and oat bread, with butter and eggs occasionally, and flesh meat at the great festivals. The clothing is neat, clean, and substantial; the coat usually of native frieze, and the waistcoat and breeches of corduroy. In their general demeanour the peasantry are kind and warm-hearted. They are, like those of most other parts of Ireland, singularly attached to peculiar places of interment. One of the most frequented of these is on a small island near the entrance of the Shannon into Lough Allen, where are the remains of a church. It has been from time immemorial the burying-place for the residents in all the surrounding country; and when access to it is prevented by the stormy state of the lake, the friends of the deceased remain on shore by the putrefying corpse, until the weather become favourable, rather than remove it

for interment elsewhere. The frequent occurrence of fatal accidents in these funereal voyages induced a neighbouring gentleman to have a piece of ground upon the adjoining mainland consecrated as a cemetery, but to no purpose. The survivors preferred awaiting all chances of weather rather than relinquish the idea of depositing the bones of their departed friend with those of his forefathers. The mountainous districts are thickly peopled, but have few resident proprietors. The lowest classes there speak Irish, a language which is understood by about thirteen per cent. of the entire population of the county. The vicinity of the three counties of Leitrim, Cavan, and Sligo to each other formerly gave frequent occasion to party feuds between hostile clans or factions, that seldom terminated without bloodshed, and not unfrequently with loss of life.

There are but few remains of ancient Irish antiquities in this county. The most remarkable are two druidical altars; one very large near Fenagh, the other of smaller dimensions at Letterfyan. They are called by the natives Leaba Dearmud is Graine, or Darby's and Graine's bed. The principal monastic buildings, of which any vestiges can now be traced, are the following:—Creevelea, near the River Bonnet, built by Margaret, widow of O'Rourke, in 1509. The walls, which are nearly entire, have on them some curious figures, and contain several antique monuments. Fionagh, in Fenagh parish, still exhibits a window of fine workmanship; the place was anciently celebrated as a school of divinity, and was resorted to by students from many parts of Europe. A Franciscan friary, at Jamestown, was remarkable, in the eventful period of 1641, as being the place where the Roman Catholic clergy assembled, and nominated commissioners to treat with such foreign powers as were willing to assist them in their struggle against the English government. Clone, near a small river of the same name in Mohill barony, has still some ruins to point out its site. Mohill Abbey, Annaghduff, and Drumleas, have been converted into parish churches. Some others are known only by name. Amongst the military antiquities may be noticed O'Rourke's Hall, at Dromahaire, near the Bonnet, the destruction of which was expedited by using its materials for the construction of the neighbouring castle of Dromahaire, supposed to have been built by Sir William Villiers in the year 1628. Other castles, built by various members of the O'Rourke family, are those of Longfield, Cloncorrick, Castle Cor, and one on the banks of Lough Gill. Woodford House is built on the site of another of the O'Rourks' castles. Manor-Hamilton Castle, built by Sir Frederick Hamilton in 1641, but now in ruins, was by much the largest, best built, and handsomest in the county. Castle John stands on an island in the little lake called Lough Scur. Dunganbury Castle, near the sea, is of the era of Elizabeth.

The population of Leitrim may be said to be wholly rural: no town in it contains 2000 inhabitants. Carrick-on-Shannon, the county town, where the assizes are held, and all the public business transacted, contains no more than 1366 inhabitants. Though well circumstanced for inland trade, from its situation on a fine navigable river, no advantage is derived from its position. Its only public buildings are a court-house, a jail, a chapel of ease, and a barrack. The mail-coach road to Sligo passes through it. The only other towns whose population exceeds 1000 souls are, Mohill, which contains 1223, and Manor-Hamilton, which has 1227 inhabitants. (U. S.—R.)