THE REPRESENTATIVE HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND. BEDFORDSHIRE, 22 EDWARD I. THIS central county of England, bounded on the north and north-west by Northamptonshire, on the north-east by Huntingdonshire, on the east by Cambridgeshire, on the south and south east by Hertfordshire, and on the west and south-west by Buckinghamshire, is divided into the nine hundreds of Barford, Biggleswade, Clifton, Flitt, Manshead, Redbourne, Stodden, Willey, and Wixamtree. It comprises an area of 463 square statute miles, or 296,320 acres, of which 80,000 are stated to be arable, and 168,000 pasture or common. The population of the county in 1801, was 63,393; in 1811, 70,213; in 1821, 83,716; in 1831, 95,383; and in 1841, 107,936. By the last census, the number of houses appears to be 21,235 inhabited, 519 uninhabited, and 210 building. The chief produce is corn, the vale of Bedford being considered one of the finest districts in the kingdom for its crops, which, however, require much labour and expense in their cultivation. This, together with the depreciation in the value of corn, when compared with stock, makes the rent very low; most of the land north of Bedford does not let for more than 10s. an acre, and some as low as 6s., notwithstanding the considerable expense incurred by proprietors in fencing and making ditches. There is nothing remarkable in the cattle and sheep in this county, there being no indigenous breeds of either. The farms are not in general of great extent. Some few contain from 400 to 500 acres; but the average size is about 150. Leases for long terms are not common, which is an obstacle to improvement. Farms held from year to year may be kept in good heart, and well cultivated, on the common established system, provided there be a great confidence in the honour of the landlord, that he will not suddenly or capriciously remove a tenant; but no great and permanent improvement can be expected to be made, except by a proprietor or lessee for a considerable term. A tenant liable to be ejected at a short notice, cannot obtain credit to borrow money to lay out on his farm; and if he be prudent, will not lay out his own capital on an uncertainty. Formerly there were many small proprietors and yeomen occupying their own lands to the amount of from 20 to 50 acres ; but they are mostly reduced to the state of cottagers and labourers; thus their class has nearly disappeared. The other productions of the county, are coarse limestone, lime, fuller's-earth, brick-clay, and bricks, coppice and B brush-wood, peat, beans, hay, vegetables, &c. From a recent parliamentary return, it seems, that the chief occupations of the working-classes, consist 1. in agriculture, in which there are 12,766 labourers employed; 2. domestics, 4502; 3. lace-makers, 2602; 4. labourers, 1831; 5. straw-plait manufacturers, 1753; 6. farmers, graziers, 1461; 7. boot and shoemakers, 1115. Persons of independent means are numbered at 1720; alms-people, pensioners, paupers and beggars, at 1117; and persons of no particular trade or calling, at 67,638. The total annual value of real property assessed in this county, is £517,474. 2s. Id., of which £377,994. 19s. 5d. is on lands; £132,296. 9s. 9d. on houses, and £7182. 12s. 11d. on tithes. This is at the average rate of 2s. 1d. in the pound. Chicksands Priory, and Shefford Hardwicks, are the only two extra-parochial places in the county, which are exempt from the payment of poor-rates. The two annexed tables show the income and expenditure of the county-rates and poor-rates; the first, the county-rates from 1792-1838; the second, the poor-rates from 1749-1839. COUNTY RATES, Year 1792 1793 1794 1795 1796 1797 1798 1799 Income.. Year Income. £1357 1357* 1163 Expenditure.... £1080* 1080* 964 1800 1801 1802 £4070 4652 4652 1744 1163 1744 581 2326 1744 1163 1163 2326 1744 2871 1803 1804 1805 1806 1807 Income.. Year... Income.. £1744 3489 4652 4070 5815 6978 6396 6687 Expenditure.... £1834 2620 4647 3904 3892 7708 4412 6378 1816 1817 1818 1819 1820 1821 1822 1823 £6979 5816 3489 4652 4652 8724 9305 8724 Expenditure.... £6998 4994 4196 Year..... 9809 8758 6189 5438 8096 1824 1825 1826 1827 1828 1829 1830 1831 £7388 5761 6994 6999 7351 5853 7012 7614 Expenditure.... 6555 6343* 6130 5091 4216 4014 4185 * The accounts marked thus being defective in those particular years, the sums have been supplied by the average of the same years in other counties. Par. 1802 J. Osborn. Members. St. John. دو Hon. St. Andrew 1830 Marq, of Tavistock. W.Stuart. 1806 1831 § 1835 1813. Marquis of Tavistock, v. 1837 Fitzpatrick (deceased.) 1818 Marquis of Tavistock. liam Stuart. Lord Alford. 1841 William Astell. Osborn, Bart. Sir J. 1846. Lord J. F. Russell, v. Francis C. H. Russell. Lord • Mr. John Osborn contested this election; Pym 1138, Fitzpatrick 1084, Osborn 1069. Sir John Osborn, Bart. was an unsuccessful candidate; Tavistock 1458, Pym 1308, Osborn 1214. Mr. Pym was unseated; Macqueen 1515, Tavistock 1258, Pym 1022. § Mr. Stuart lost this election; Tavistock 1137, Payne 1073, Stuart 609. Sir P. Payne was defeated; Russell 1937, Stuart 1871, Payne 1075. LIST OF PARLIAMENTS FROM 1 EDWARD VI., 1547, TO 10 VICTORIA, 1847. Charles I.. 17 May, 16:1 1625 1625 4 Charles II. 6 Feb. 1626 15 June, 1626 0 10 21 Sir E. Phellips, Kt. 9 T. Richardson 5 Sir T. Crewe, Kt. 26 Ditto Huntingdonshire Ludgershall, Wilts Bedford, Bedfordsh 9 Sir H. Finch, Kt. 1 (resigned.) Sir L. Long, v. Wells, Somerset. Chute (unable to attend.) 26 Dec. 1659 6 Mar. 1660 0 2 20 (*T. Bampfield, v. Exeter, Devonshire Long (died 16 * The members who sat in these three Parliaments are the same as those returned in 1658. |