for Wales. Our readers will very likely remember that certain Reports on the state of education in Wales, printed by order of the House of Commons, gave immense offence to all who had got ever so little Welsh blood in their veins. We reviewed these very reports, and gave our opinions on Welsh education at considerable length; and therefore we do not open Sir Thomas Phillips' pages with the intention of reverting to that part of the subject, though the author, in compiling it, seems to have had the education of his countrymen principally in view. We consider, however, that a work written by a gentleman, known for his forensic abilities and literary pursuits, upon a large portion of this island, and purporting to be a complete account of its moral and social condition, must form a suitable topic for review and discussion. Our readers will not repent our introducing it to their notice: we can at once assure them that it will amply repay the trouble--if it be a trouble at all--of perusing it. The style is graceful and yet nervous; the whole tone and colour of the thoughts of the author show the gentleman; while the general compilation and discussion of the facts collected prove Sir Thomas Phillips to have the mind and the abilities of a statesman.[15] Another, and a more important reason, however, why this work will be acceptable to many of our readers, is that it touches upon various questions which, at times like the present, are of vital importance to the welfare, not of Wales only, but of the British empire; and that it proves the existence of feelings in the Principality--mentioned by us on a previous occasion--which ought to be brought before the notice of the public, and commented upon. This is the task which we reserve for ourselves after reviewing more in detail the work of the learned author; for Wales _may_ become a second Ireland in time, if neglected, or it _may_ continue to be a source of permanent strength to the crown, if properly treated and protected. The existence of such a state of things is hinted at in the preface--an uncommonly good one, by the way, and dated, with thorough Cambrian spirit, on _St David's Day_, if not from the top of Snowdon, yet from the more prosaic and less mountainous locality of the Inner Temple. The author's words are--