A. D. 1785. 69. 



1785, January — The winter herrings, inftead of fetting in, as ufual, up- 

 on the north-wefl coaft of Ireland in the middle of Odober, and remain- 

 ing till January, did not make their appearance there this feafon till the 

 30'" of December. Though there remained then but a few days of the 

 ufual fifhing feafon, yet, by the Irifh fifhery being exempt from the 

 many reftridions by which the Britifh fifhery was crufhed down, 300 

 builes, with the help of 450 * boats belonging to that part of the coun- 

 try, in the courfe of a fortnight made their full cargoes of herrings ; 

 which, owing to the failure of the winter filhing on the coaft of Scot- 

 land, and the total failure this year of the Swedifli fiiheryf , came to an 

 excellent market. 



After the ceffation of hoflilities the fovereigns of Europe fet them- 

 felves with the moft earneft zeal to promote and extend the commerce 

 of their dominions, the ardour of attention, which princes ufed for- 

 merly to beftow upon objects of fuperftition or aggrandizement of ter- 

 ritory, being now transferred to, and almoft engroffed by, this new 

 purfuit. The natural confequence of fuch a prevailing fpirit was a 

 number of new commercial treaties. By one of thefe, entered into in . 

 the year 1784, the French were admitted to the rights of denizen{hip, 

 of eftabHfliing fadlories and warehoufes, and of carrying on a free trade 

 in French or Weft-India goods, in Gottenburgh, which by the excel- 

 lence of its harbour, and its pofition without the Sound, is the moft 

 valuable port of Sweden ; and to export whatever they pleafed ; both 

 imports and exports being, either in French or Swedilh veflels, at their 

 pleafure. In return for thefe favours France ceded to Sweden the ifland 

 of S'. Bartholemew in the Weft-Indies : and the king of Sweden in the 

 beginning of this year declared his new Weft-Indian territory a free 

 port ; which, indeed, is the only way it can be rendered of any ufe, as 

 the ifland is fmall, deftitute of a good harbour, the furface of it encum- 

 bered with rocks and barren fands, producing in fome few fpots a 

 trifling quantity of cotton, and not even that in years of drought, there 

 being neither fpring nor river, nor a drop of frefli water, but what falls 

 in rain from the clouds. 



March 7'" — The proprietors of the plate-glafs manufadory in a peti- 

 tion to parliament fet forth, thit their glafs was now in all refpeds 

 equal to that of France, where the manufidure is not only wholely 

 exempted from duty, but alfo endowed with many privileges ; while 

 they are obliged to pay duty even upon the wafte glafs, which they 

 offered to prove they had done to the amount of ^^7,000. They com- 



* The Irlfh fi{hcrs in the buITes have their free duty had the ufual confequence of encouraging 



option to make their cargoes as they can, either by fmuggling. The parliament of Ireland alfo gn-veii 



catching the herrings themfelvi-s, or purchafing premium to the amount of ^200 on the fait coiifum- 



thera from others. td in the fiflicry from June 1784 to June I-/ 85 : 



f The Irifh parliament, finding the duty of 4^" and they gave a variety of otlitr prcmiunis to a 



a barrel, impofed in the year 1777 on Swedlfh her- very great amount for ilie encouragenieiit of the 



rings, infufficient to prevent the importation of various branches of the hlhery. 

 them, this year raifed it to iq/I But the high 



I3 



