P U B L I C - W O R K S. , 91 



Incomplete as thefe data are, we find from them, that great 

 fums of money have been granted for inland navigations, and 

 are to this day given for the fame purpofe let us therefore 

 enquire how this money has been expended, and what h&s 

 been the eflfedl of it, 



I made fome enquiries, and travelled many miles to view 

 Come of the navigations, and the only one which appeared to 

 me really completed, is the canal from the town of Newry to 

 the fea, on which I faw a brig of eighty or one hundred tons 

 burthen. The fame canal is extended farther than that town, 

 but ftops fliort of the great objeft for which it was begun 

 and made, viz. the Drumglafs and Dungannon colleries ; this 

 may therefore be clafled as incomplete relative to the objeft, 

 but as Newry is a place of conliderable trade, finifhing it fo 

 far has merit. The great tiefign was to furnifh Dublin with 

 IrifK coals, which was probably feafible, for thefeams of coals 

 in thofe collieries are aflerted to be of luch a thickncfs.and good- 

 nefs,as proved them more than equal to the confumption of half 

 a dozen fuch cities as Dublin ; but two great difficulties were 

 to be overcome : firft, to make the navigation fo, that all land 

 carriage might be faved, which was properly a public work; 

 and fecondly, to work the collieries, which was properly pri- 

 vate bufinefs, but from the utter deficiency of capital in the 

 hands of the individuals concerned, could never have been 

 clone without public afliftance. To get over thefe difficulties, 

 parliament went very eagerly into the bufinefs ; they granted fo 

 liberally to the canal, that I think it has been finifhed to with- 

 in two or three miles of the collieries ; at the fame time a pri- 

 vate company was formed for working the mines, to whom 

 conliderable grants were made to enable them to proceed. 

 The property in the works changed hands feveral times ; 

 among others, the late archbifliop of Tuam (Ryder) was deeply 

 concerned in them, entering with great fpirit into the defign ; 

 but what with the impofuions of the people employed ; the 

 iois of fome that were able and honeft ; the ignorance of 

 others ; and the jobbing fpirit of fome proprietors, parliament, 

 atter granting enormous fums, both to the canal and collieries, 

 had the mortification, inftead of feeing coals come to Dublin, 

 nothing but gold fert from Dublin, to do that which fate feem- 

 ed determined iliould never be done, and fo in defpair aban- 

 doned the defign to the navigation board, to fee if their lefler 

 exertions would effect what the mightier ones had failed in. 

 A Mr. Dulartc, an Italian engineer, and very ingenious archi- 

 tect, has had for a few vears the fuperintendance of the woiks, 

 but the temper of the nation has been fo fcured by difappoint- 

 ments, that he has not the funpon which he thinks necefiary 

 to do any thing effectual, 



The 



