Now these hinds must be very unreasonable fellows. Spite of all their bounteous and Arcadian lot; spite of their cottages being “scenes of comfort and contentment,” they certainly were, as described in the preceding pages, found by us, in 1836, in a most _dis_contented state. And since then they have turned out in great numbers, calling upon their employers to abolish the system. In public meetings held at Wooller, and elsewhere, they described their situation as wretched, and their average weekly gains at about 5_s._ 6¾_d._ Mr. L. Hindmarsh, in a paper on the Bondage System, read at Newcastle, in August, 1838, bears testimony to the great dissatisfaction of the hinds. Mr. Grey, in his pamphlet alluded to above, states, on the other hand, that the “conditions” of the hind, as they are called, were in 1831, the year of its publication, as follows; and that however the market-price may vary the quantities are _invariably the same_, and _always of the very best quality_; varying with the price of grain from £30 to £40 a year. £. _s._ _d._ 36 bushels of oats 6 12 0 24 ditto barley 5 12 0 12 ditto peas 3 0 0 3 ditto wheat 1 5 0 3 ditto rye 0 15 0 36 ditto potatoes, at 1_s._ 6_d._ 2 14 0 24 pounds of wool 1 0 0 A cow’s keep for the year 9 0 0 Cottage and garden 3 0 0 Coals, carrying from the pit 2 0 0 Cash 3 10 0 ----------- £ 38 8 0 ----------- This is also exclusive of what the other branches of the family earn; the females receiving 10_d._ or 1_s._ a day generally, and 2_s._ or 2_s._ 6_d._ in harvest.