mounted, and are a terror to the neighbouring country. The
Pwiltrap gate has been destroyed a great number of times and as
frequently replaced by the trustees of the road; but, immediately
after its re-erection, the fellows have invariably assembled in
greater force than before; and, riding up to the gate, the following
interesting colloquy has taken place. The leader of the mob,
addressing the others in Welsh, says, 'My children this gate has no
business here, has it?' to which her children reply, that it has not;
the mother again asks, what is to be done with it, when the children
reply, that it should be levelled with the ground. They then
immediately break it down, and disperse in different directions.

"This system has continued for a length of time; and, although a
reward of 50 pounds has been offered, not one of the offenders has
been discovered. About 100 constables have been sworn in, and three
constables from London are down there; but all precautions are
ineffectual; for so surely as the constables show the slightest
diminution of their vigilance, Rebecca and her daughters appear, and
level the gates. A very short time ago, the policemen were after a
fellow whom they suspected to belong to the gang and, while at a
public house, baiting their horse, Rebecca and her daughters suddenly
came in sight, and the affrighted officers of the law were obliged to
fly for their lives. The gates have now been re-erected, and no
fresh act of violence has occurred since the 16th ult., but the
organisation of the depredators still continues; and, it is feared,
will break out with fresh violence if the constabulary force be
removed."

That this movement was serious and no joke, is evidenced by the fact that
I have, in my notes, 45 paragraphs in the _Times_ on the subject.

From Pembroke and Caermarthen, it gradually spread to Cardiganshire, on
one side, and to Radnorshire and Glamorganshire, on the other.
Brecknockshire, alone of the South Wales counties, enjoyed exemption from
these disturbances. The destruction which the rioters effected in some
of these districts was most extensive and unsparing. There were, at the
time of the outbreak, between 100 and 150 gates, including side bars and
chains, in the county of Caermarthen; of these, no less than between 70
and 80 were destroyed, the toll-houses, as well as the gates