Port- 

 (llasgow, 



Port- 

 Patrick. 



O R 



A n Account of the Number of Ships, with their Tonnage 

 and Men, that have reported outwards at Port-Glas- 

 gow, during the Year ending 5th January 1815, also 

 an Account of the Value oj British Goods exported 

 from thence. 



In the year 1791, there were 125 vessels, bearing 

 12,760 tons, belonging to the town. In 1790. the num- 

 ber of vessels to and frcoi the port, was 450, measur- 

 ing 46,560 tons. 



The following is the number of ships, with their 

 tonnage, and number of men, that entered inwards and 

 oiitwards at Port-Glasgow, in the year ending 5th Ja- 

 nuary 1824. 



Ships. Tonnage. Men. 



Inwards 161 28,064 1,467 



Outwards 264 29,874 1,678 



Total 



425 



57,938 



3,145 



The following articles were imported at Port-Glas- 

 gow, in the year ending 5th January 1824. 



Coffee 



Sugar 

 Molasses 



Lib. 

 145,144 



Cwt. qr. Ib. 



160,753 14 



17,210 2 6 



Rum 

 Wine 



Tobacco 



The amount of duties of customs received at Port- 

 Glasgow, in the year ending 5th January 1824, was 

 176,344, Os. lid. 



Port-Glasgow is a port of the custom-house, but it 

 has been recently proposed to deprive it of this privi- 

 lege. 



The population of Port- Glasgow is about 5500. See 

 Cleland's Annals of Glasgow, 1816, vol. i. p. 18 ; and 

 vol. ii. p. 389, 391. 



PORT-PATRICK, a small maritime burgh, is si- 

 tuated on the Avest coast of Wigtonshire, nearly oppo- 

 site to Donaghadee. It received its name, like many 

 places in Scotland, from St. Patrick, the tutelary saint 

 of Ireland. An attempt was made, in the sixteenth 

 century, to supersede this ancient appellation. Hugh 

 Montgomery, Viscount Airds in Ireland (whose de- 

 scendants were afterwards raised to the title of Earl 

 Mount- Alexander, which became extinct in 1758) hav- 

 ing become possessed of this place, and of extensive 

 lands in the neighbourhood, erected it into a burgh of 

 barony, and conferred on it the name of Port-Montgo- 

 rnery, in honour of his own family. The original name 

 was held in, too high veneration to be easily laid aside. 

 And when, a few years before the Restoration, this 

 noble family disposed of the burgh and all their Scot- 

 tish property, to the Rev. John Blair, minister of Port- 

 Patrick (the ancestors of the Blairs of Dunskey ) the 

 ancient title was immediately resumed, and is still re- 

 tained, and that of Port-Montgomery now entirely for- 

 gotten. 



Port- Patrick enjoys a south-western exposure, and 



116 P O H 



is bounded in every other direction by hills, which su'd- 

 denly rise in a romantic semi-circular form to a height 

 varying from one hundred to three hundred feet. It 

 seems as if placed in an excavation dug- out of thcr 

 mountains by which it is surrounded, and which ap- 

 pear (chiefly when viewed from the channel) to approach 

 the sea so nearly, that there could be no room for a 

 single house, much less a thriving and extensive village. 

 The only outlet is a small valley, about the centre of 

 the semi-circle, through which a small stream flows, and 

 falls into the sea on the north side of the village. The 

 burgh is very little elevated above the level of the sea. 

 The principal street is in the form of a crescent, run- 

 ning parallel with the bay, and there are three smaller 

 streets connected with it, stretching at right angles to- 

 wards the mountains. The houses are in general well 

 built, comfortable, and covered with slate. The pa- 

 rish church, (built in 16'28,) and the manse, are situ- 

 ated in the burgh. With the exception of the ground 

 on which the custom-house stands, the feus are the pro- 

 perty of Mr. Blair of Dunskey. 



It is a place of extreme antiquity, but it was of no 

 note till it formed the great thoroughfare between Ire- 

 land and Scotland. In the beginning of last century, 

 the number of inhabitants did not exceed 100 ; but in 

 1790> they had amounted to fully 500; and including 

 the workmen now employed at the improvements in 

 the harbour, they extend to nearly 1000. The history 

 of its harbour and of its official communication with 

 Ireland, can be mentioned with considerable accuracy. 

 It was not till l6't>2 that a mail was established between 

 the two kingdoms ; a measure accomplished by the Earl 

 of Newburgh; and in the same year, the privy council 

 gave L.200 Sterling to Robert Main, post-master-gene- 

 ral for Scotland, to build a packet-boat for conveying 

 the mail between Port-Patrick and Donaghadee. At 

 what intervals it was to ply between these places, can- 

 not now be ascertained ; but as by an act of the Scot- 

 tish Parliament in l6'95, it was fixed to go weekly, it 

 is evident it must previously have crossed seldomer, or 

 at least more irregularly than then determined. Nor 

 did it go regularly for some time after this period. 

 Packet-boats indeed continued to be established, and 

 the intervals for passing fixed by law ; yet as there 

 was no quay or safe-landing place on either side, and 

 as the wages of the sailors were the same whether they 

 crossed regularly or not, they availed themselves of the 

 least excuse for remaining in harbour ; and thus de- 

 feated the object for which they were employed. Go- 

 vernment therefore saw that a change was necessary. 

 The established packets were accordingly abolished, 

 and a rule fixed, that whatever vessel should sail first, 

 after the mail arrived, should have the carrying of it, 

 with a certain allowance for the service. This, operat- 

 ing as a premium, had for a long time a good effect. 

 But the communication between the two kingdoms in- 

 creasing, the allowance rn^de by government became 

 of comparatively little importance ; and a boat would 

 not sail unless she had a freight or cargo in addition to 

 the mail. The original plan of official packets was 

 again resorted to, but, upon more strict, vigilant, and 

 liberal principles. They are four in number, and the 

 allowance made them by government is L 800. In ad- 

 dition to the conveying of the mail, they are fitted up 

 for the accommodation of passengers ; the distance is 

 twenty-one miles ; they cross daily ; no accident has 

 hitherto taken place ; and so regular is the communi- 

 cation, that, except in the stormy days of winter, an 

 Irish mail is very seldom due. 



Gallons. 

 47,471 

 4,336 

 Lib. 



305,307 

 893,052 



Port- 

 1',-itnck. 



