LOGIE PARISH

POPULATION:- This parish, like many others, was formerly divided into smaller farms than it is now. This change tends, of course, to diminish the population; and, what has contributed to the same effect, fewer cottages are required upon farms, in consequence of unmarried being generally preferred to married servants. These causes of a decrease of population, however, have been in some measure counterbalanced by the encouragement given to feuing by some of the proprietors. Three small villages have arisen in this way. The advantages of feuing either to proprietor or tenant are very questionable. A higher rent may be obtained, but an unsound population is produced, and paupers, which the landholder must maintain, are increased in number. Man naturally wishes to be independent, to have a house and a home which he can call his own. But the expense of building a house to a poor man, and a high feu-rent, often leave him nothing of independence but the name. This, however, many are compelled to do, or remove to towns, as neither proprietors nor tenants give much encouragement to the building and letting of cottages. This system weakens or dissolves that moral tie which should unite rich and poor, and widens that breach between them, which is ruinous to the peace and prosperity of both.

Illegitimate births in the course of the last three years, 3.

HABITS AND CHARACTER OF THE PEOPLE:- A great proportion of the inhabitants, both male and female, are employed in agriculture, and they are in general very sober and industrious, and are tolerably comfortable in their circumstances. Few of the farmservants, indeed, have now the luxury of a cow; but they have each a Scotch pint of milk daily from their master's dairy, with a sufficient quantity of oat-meal and potatoes, and in general they fatten a pig or two annually for family use. It is, indeed, truly wonderful how well clothed, neat, and clean, large families are kept, and at the same time tolerably well educated, with the few pounds Of wages received by farm-servants and other labourers. Much depends upon the sobriety of the husband, and the good economy of the wife, and the good health which a kind Providence, is pleased to bestow. The young unmarried servants are not in so comfortable a state. Their only food is oatmeal, milk, and some potatoes. They are lodged in an apartment called a bothy, by themselves, quite detached from their master's house and in general entirely neglected by him as to moral inspection or religious instruction. The fatal consequence is, that too many of our youth in that rank of life have, for many years past, grown up in ignorance and vice and the instruction which they may receive from clergymen is very inefficient, as a great proportion of them change masters every year.

WAGES .-The rate of wages is for men about 9s. a week in summer, and 8s. a week in winter; for women, by whom much field work is done, 4s. a week ; for wrights, smiths, and masons from 12s to 15s. a week.

PAROCHIAL ECONOMY.

No turnpike road passes through any part of this parish, there is no inn or alehouse in it. The nearest post-town is Cupar, distant about four miles and a half.

ECCLESIASTICAL STATE:.-There is no dissenting place of worship in the parish, and the dissenters, who chiefly belong to what are called the Relief and Associate Synod, are not numerous, seldom exceeding thirty individuals.

The parish church, which was built in 1826, is a very plain but commodious house, placed in a centrical situation. it is seated for 280, and none of the seats are let. Each heritor accommodates the people upon his own ground with seats. But though the church is sufficiently large for the population, there is still a want of seats in those divisions of the church which belong to heritors, who, by feuing their ground, have raised a greater number of people upon it than their proportion of the church can supply with seats. This is a hardship for which no legal remedy is yet provided. About one-half of the population regularly attend public worship on the Sabbath, and about one third of them are communicants. No society for religious purposes is, at present, established in the parish. But there is, in general, an annual collection so appropriated, amounting, to L. 6 or L. 7.

A new manse was built in 1815, and offices in 1828; and both are in good condition.

EDUCATION:- There is only one school in the parish. The schoolmaster has the maximum salary, with an addition of 50 merks Scots per annum, a mortification of an old date by an heritor in the parish to the person then called the reader. The common branches of education, English reading, writing, and arithmetic, are taught. But the schoolmaster is qualified to teach English grammar, Latin, practical mathematics and geography, and sometimes has a few scholars attending these higher branches. The fees per quarter are 2s., 2s. 6d., and 3s. The fees received by the teacher may amount to L. 15 or L 20 per annum. There are none in the parish who cannot read and few who cannot write, and are not also somewhat acquainted with arithmetic. The children of the labouring classes are in general sent to school at an earlier period of life, and leave it sooner than formerly, so that, unless they are attended to by parents or masters, or have the benefit of a Sabbath school, they too soon forget what they have learned. A Sabbath school has been long taught in this parish, but is now attended chiefly by girls.

LIBRARY; - There is no public library for the use of the parish, but Sabbath scholars and others are supplied with a few appropriate books from the manse. There is, indeed, a library of some value belonging to a heritor, to which a certain class of the parishioners have access, if they choose to avail themselves of the privilege. But the very terms upon which it is granted, operate as an exclusion from the carefully secured treasure. The books, as well as the acres, are strictly entailed. The heir of entail is prohibited from lending a book to his neighbours; but he is bound to keep a suitable room for the library in his house, and to allow free access to it to the minister and other gentlemen, there to read and study, but all women and children are expressly excluded.

POOR:- The poor in this parish, whose average number is about 7, and who get from 4s. to 10s. per month, according to their circumstances, are supplied by collections at the church door, by the interest of a small sum of money, and voluntary contributions by the heritors. The collections and interest amount to L. 18 or L. 20, and nearly as much is contributed annually by the heritors. Instances of praiseworthy delicacy respecting dependence upon the poor's fund sometimes occur, but a very different feeling is evidently increasing. The session records and parish register are regularly kept. The date of the earliest is 1660.