like stock, the dividends to be invested half-yearly, so that the same should accumulate for 20 years, after which time the dividends of the whole should be paid to the treasurer of the other female benefit club in Stockton. And he further directed that his executors should set apart £200 like stock, for each of the benefit clubs of men in Stockton, which should be subsisting at the time of his death, and should transfer such stock into the names aforesaid, the dividends to be paid to the treasurers of such clubs for the time being, under such regulations as therein expressed; and that in case the said clubs of men or women should be discontinued, the stock which should have been appropriated for the benefit of such clubs should thenceforth be in trust for and be transferable to the trustees of the Charity School for the time being, for the general purposes of that charity.

Two of the latter bequests have already fallen to the school; and the stock now stands in the names of George Hutchinson, John Hutchinson, and Leonard Raisbeck. In respect of the legacy of £500 left for the female benefit club, whereof the testator's wife and Mrs. Sleigh were the patronesses, £15 per annum is paid to the treasurer of that club. The yearly sum of £3, in respect of the legacy of £100, is re-invested from time to time for the benefit of the other female club in Stockton; and on this account there was in January, 1829, £130, 17s. 8d. three per cent. consols standing in the names of Thomas R. Gray and Marshall Robinson, and the sum of £2, 0s. 9d. in a bank. The dividends in respect of the residue, £600 stock, are divided equally, and paid over to the treasurers of three male benefit clubs still existing.

Mr. Sutton also bequeathed to the late Mrs. Sutton's Blanket Fund, the interest of £200 five per cent. consols; to the Dispensary, while that establishment shall continue, the interest of £300 three per cent. consols; to the Sunday-school, the interest of £100 do.; to the School of Industry, the interest of £300 do. ; as an addition to the stipend of the organist (interest to accumulate for 20 years), £400 do.; towards enclosing a burying-ground, if purchased within six years from the testator's death, £600 do.; towards paving, lighting, and improving the town, if an act of parliament be procured within five years from his death, £200; and to the Bible Society, £100.

Gibson's Charity.-Thomas Gibson bequeathed to the poor of East Hartburn £20, the interest thereof to be distributed to them in white bread every Lord's Day, at the communion table in Stockton church, or failing them, to the other poor there present. This sum appears to have been carried to the account of the church-rate, as 20s. is paid thereout yearly, and disposed of in bread to the poor of the township of East Hartburn, who attend divine service, if there is a sufficient number, and if not, to other poor persons.

Benevolent and Literary Institutions, &c.

The Dispensary, which affords medical and surgical aid to the afflicted poor, occupies part of the Workhouse, where it was established above 30 years ago, since which it has been the means of relieving and restoring to health many hundreds of the distressed objects of its bounty. The gentlemen of the faculty give their attendance; and the house apothecary receives a salary for dispensing medicines and receiving patients on two or three days in each week, and for attending at their own houses the patients who are not able to leave home.

A Society for the Relief of Lying-in Women was commenced in 1817. A Society for the Suppression of Vagrancy and Mendicity has also been established for some months, which has tended very considerably to remove beggars, &c. from the streets; at the same time that it affords food and lodging to the poor and deserving traveller. Various other societies for the relief of the sick and distressed exist in Stockton.

Grammar School.-In 1785, a spacious room was built by subscription, in the West Row, for a Grammar School. The ground on which the building is erected is leased to the corporation from the bishop of Durham. The master usually receives an allowance of £20 per annum from the corporation, on condition of teaching boys recommended by the mayor,

The School of Industry, in Castlegate, was established in 1803, for educating and clothing females free of expense. It is supported by voluntary contributions; and there are generally near 40 children under tuition.

Sunday-schools are established in the National School-room and in most of the chapels of the town, at which above 500 children are instructed in the rudiments of learning. Stockton also con

tains several boarding-schools, one of which is kept by the Rev. James Cundill, vicar; and there are, besides, a number of day-schools for children of both sexes.

An auxiliary Bible Society was commenced in Stockton in 1812. Missionary and other societies, for the promotion of religious knowledge, are also supported by the Church and Dissenting congregations.

Benefit Societies.—To provide a certain pecuniary aid against the hour of sickness and debility, there are in this town about a dozen associations formed amongst the operatives, tradesmen, and others, for the support of their members, who are required to contribute from 2d. to 4d. per week to their respective funds. One of these associations is composed of about 50 females, and the others comprehend upwards of 600 males. (See Sutton's Charities.)

The Savings Bank, for Stockton and the neighbourhood, ranks amongst the provident institutions in this town, and is held in a room at the Alms-houses, in the High Street, where it was established in 1816, and is now open every Wednesday from twelve to one o'clock. It is under the direction of twelve trustees. In November, 1827, no fewer than 857 persons had deposits in this bank, amounting to £25,418, 18s. 24d.; and its funds continue to increase.

The Stockton, Yarm, and Norton Institution for the Instruction of Mechanics and for the Promotion of useful Knowledge, established April 11, 1825, is in the possession of a valuable library of several hundred volumes, besides a variety of apparatus and mechanical instruments, and a collection of minerals. This useful institution occupies a large room in Mason's Court. A general meeting is held on the first Thursday in every month, for the discussion of literary, philosophical, and scientific subjects, &c.; but the library is open weekly. Adults pay a yearly subscription of 12s., but apprentices only half that sum.

The Subscription Library, at Mr. John Ellerby's, High Street, was established July 5, 1791, and now contains above a thousand useful and interesting volumes, connected with nearly all the departments of literature. There are about 70 members, each of whom contributes 16s. per annum, besides two guineas as purchase-money at entrance. The business of the institution is under the direction of a committee; and Mr. Nathan Thompson, of the Customs, is the present treasurer. The Church Library, established in 1800, is kept in the vestry, and consists principally of works on Divinity. The Unitarians have also a library in their chapel; and there are four Circulating Libraries, where most of the popular novels of the day may be had. The Subscription News Room, in the Town Hall, is well supplied with London and country journals; and any stranger may be admitted on being introduced by a subscriber.*

* In the history of the literature of Stockton, the name of Joseph Ritson will ever hold a conspicuous place. This distinguished English critic and collector was born here October 2, 1752. His father, Joseph Ritson, was descended from an ancient family of yeomanry who had long held lands at Hackthorpe, in Westmoreland. Ritson's destination was the law, and he was placed with Ralph Bradley, Esq., an eminent conveyancer in Stockton. After some years, he entered of Grey's Inn, where he was called to the bar, and continued a member of that society until his death. He practised exclusively as a conveyancer; and his talents, accuracy, and integrity, secured him a high professional character, and might have led to wealth; but ancient English poetry, rhyme, and ballad, and the drama, had more charms for him than the law, and he contented himself with a very moderate share of business, merely sufficient to eke out a small private income. In the then little explored treasures of the British Museum, and the Bodleian Library, he found subjects congenial to his taste; and he also paid considerable attention to ancient English history. Though he did not profess to be an author, yet the introductory "Dissertation" to his Ancient Songs and Metrical Romances, the "Life and Notes" to Robin Hood, and several other illustrative essays, evinced the depth of his researches into early English literature. In his controversies with the editors of Shakspeare, and with

Public Buildings.

The Town Hall, or Town House, erected in 1735, and enlarged when the old Toll-booth was taken down in 1744, occupies the centre of the High Street, the effect of which it is thought by some to destroy. It is, however, a large, handsome, and commodious structure, forming a square, with

Dr. Percy, whom he accused of having forged the greater part of his "Reliques," he displayed an indefensible asperity, which caused him to be represented as a cynic and misanthrope in private life. His temper was indeed somewhat irritable, and perhaps influenced by an early disappointment; and he had adopted 'peculiar ideas, both as to religious and civil government." But he was neither morose nor unsocial, his friendships were steady and lasting, and if tenacious of his own opinions, he was at least most tolerant of those of others. He abstained, on a principle of humanity, from animal food, and published a book in defence of his sentiments on this head. Amongst other peculiarities, he adopted a singular orthography, which he intended should give every word, root, and derivative its full due. In London, his daily walk from his chambers to the Museum almost bounded his rambles; and his summer vacations were mostly spent with his only sister at Stockton, or occasionally his relatives in Westmoreland. In 1791, he visited Paris, accompanied by his old and early friend, William Shield, Esq.; and, on one occasion at least, visited the late Sir Walter Scott at Laswade, whose "Border Minstrelsy," then newly published, was to Ritson's mind an epicurean banquet. Sir Walter, in a letter to a friend, gives the following testimony to his virtues :-" I loved poor Ritson, with all his singularities; he was always kind and indulgent to me. He had an honesty of principle about him, which, if it went to ridiculous extremities, was still respectable from the soundness of the foundation. I don't believe the world could have made Ritson say the thing he did not think. I wish we had his like at present."

Ritson's constitution was naturally delicate, and was perhaps further weakened by the extreme abstinence which he had imposed upon himself. He suffered repeated attacks of apoplexy; and a final stroke carried him off, after a fortnight's illness, on September 23, 1803. He had for some years held the official situation of "High Bailiff of the Liberty of Savoy," and, at one time possessed a competent fortune; but, though he detested gaming, he had speculated with nearly his all in the funds, and the revulsion consequent upon the peace of Amiens swept away most of his capital. He was therefore under the necessity of selling by auction a part of his valuable library; on which occasion, "The Seven Sages of Greece, Edinb. 1578," sold for £31, 10s., no other copy being known to exist; "Bibliographia Scotica," a MS. intended for publication, £45, 3s.; and, Shakspeare, by Johnson and Steevens, with three vols. of MS. notes by Ritson, £110. After his death, his nephew, Joseph Frank, Esq, to whom his attention had been parental, reluctantly disposed of the remainder of his library.

The following catalogue of Ritson's publications was communicated to Robert Surtees, Esq., by the gentleman just mentioned:- "Verses addressed to the Ladies of Stockton, first printed in the Newcastle Miscellany, 1772," 8vo.-"The Descent of the Crown of England [in three Tables printed on one Sheet], 1778, 1783."—"The St*ckt*n Jubilee; or, Shakspeare in all his glory. A choice Pageant for Christmas Holidays, 1781, Newcastle," [London] 12mo. Observations on the Three First Volumes of the History of English Poetry. In a familiar Letter to the Author, 1782," 4to.-"Remarks, Critical and Illustrative, on the Text and Notes of the last [Johnson and Steeven's] Edition of Shakspeare, 1783," 8vo.-"A Select Collection of English Songs [and Tunes], 1783," 3 vols. 8vo.-" Gammer Gurton's Garland; or, the Nursery Parnassus. A choice Collection of pretty Songs and Verses for the amusement of all little good children who can neither read nor run, 1783," 18mo.-"The Bishopric Garland, or Durham Minstrel: being a choice Collection of excellent Songs relating to the above County, full of agreeable variety and pleasant mirth. Stockton, 1792," 12mo.- The Spartan Manual; or, Tablet of Morality: being a genuine Collection of the Apophthegms, Maxims, and Precepts, of the Philosophers, Heroes, and other great and celebrated Characters of Antiquity, under proper heads, for the improvement of Youth, and the promotion of Wisdom and Virtue, 1785," sm. 8vo." The Quip Modest; a few Words by way of Supplement to Remarks, critical and illustrative, on the Text and Notes of the last edition of Shakspeare; occasioned by a republication of that edition, revised and augmented by the Editor of Dodsley's Old Plays, 1788," 8vo. "The Yorkshire Garland; being a curious Collection of old and new Songs concerning that famous County. Part I. York, 1788," 12mo." A Digest of the Proceedings of the Court Leet of the Manor and Liberty of Savoy, parcel of the Duchy of Lancaster in the County of Middlesex, from the year 1682 to the present time, 1789," 8vo. "Pieces of Ancient Popular Poetry; from authentic MSS. and old printed Copies, 1791," 8vo.-"The Office of Constable,......1791," 8vo.-" The Jurisdiction of the Court Leet, 1791," 8vo.-" Cursory Criti