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Summary The paper describes a detailed investigation carried out at Abersychan near Pontypool, South Wales, to determine the stability of a valley side prior to multi-storey development. A routine investigation revealed the presence of deeply weathered and disturbed shales beneath variable drift deposits, and despite the absence of visual evidence of slip at that time, initial calculations indicated a case of marginal stability. A rigorous investigation was then authorized to examine the stability of the site in detail, and this confirmed a case approximating to limiting equilibrium. The shear strength of the shale was found to be related to its mineralogical content and to be independent of its flocculated structure, which had not been destroyed by weathering. The use of standard classification tests to describe the true nature of such a soil was found to be unreliable. The information obtained from the two investigations was used to formulate a scheme of anchored reinforced concrete diaphragm walls capable of supporting multi-storey buildings and stabilizing the slope.

I N Stuart England the character of imperialism was national, stemming from a whole society. Almost unknown to the colonial and metropolitan governments of i660-i714, one seemingly placid English village -typical in its pattern of landed family, rustic tenantry, and mercantile connections moved men and capital helter-skelter over the sea to create a dusky sister community, one of the first sugar estates in Jamaica. Exceedingly rare in kind, the Helyar plantation manuscripts depict the British West Indian economy and society in days when the Caribbean was both hub and cockpit of European empires. The record begins in East Coker, Somersetshire, with Squire William Helyar and his enterprising brother Cary.' To be a landed gentleman in England's west country did not ensure innocence of trade. Even the Squire Westerns of the cider counties knew Bristol's worldly ships and a cloth trade based on the industry of household spinners and weavers. In the case of the Helyars, lords of the manor of East Coker, family ties with such merchants as the Carys of Bristol and Nicholas Warren of London increased the pull of commerce, despite a wish to make lands multiply. After the Restoration of the monarchy in i66o, Squire William Helyar, who had served and suffered as a colonel in Charles I's defeated army, received titles befitting broad acres as well as tested loyalty.2 It arouses no surprise, however, to find the justice of the peace and high sheriff shipping goods to Bilbao, deeply involved in the commercial adventures of Cary Helyar. Like other younger sons and brothers of England's gentry, Cary