D E C L I N EOF IMPORTS. 203 



fiance is that of wine, which has fallen very greatly indeed. 

 The principal caufe of the decline of the revenue is to be 

 found in thcle imports. The remark I made before feems to 

 be ftrongly confirmed, that the diftrefs of Ireland feems more 

 to have affected the higher than the lower clailes ; wine, green 

 tea and brandy, are fallen off coniiderably, but tobacco, bohea 

 tea, and mufcovado fugar, are increafed from 1778 to 1779. 

 This is ftrongly confirmed by the import of loaf fugar having 

 falling while mufcovado has rilen : theloaf in 1 776 is 8,907 cwt. 

 in 1 777 it is 15,928 cwt. in 1778 it is 12,365 cwt. but in 1779 

 it is only 5,931 cwt. Other inltances may be produced: im- 

 ported milienery, a mere article of luxury for people of fafhion, 

 has fallen greatly : Engliih beer, confumed by the better ranks, 

 declines much, but hops for Irifh beer, which is drank by the 

 lower ones, has rifen exceedingly. 



From this circumftance I draw a very ftrong conclufion, 

 that rents are not paid as well as they ought, and that 

 tenants and agents make a pretence of bad times to an extent 

 far beyond the fact. The common expreffion of bad times does 

 fome mifchief of this kind in England, but in Ireland it is 

 much more effective, efpecially in excufes fent to abfentees 

 inftead of remittances. 



The great decline of the import of Britifh manufactures 

 and goods, which is remarkable, muft be attributed to the 

 non-import affociations bearing particularly againft them ; 

 they have dropped fo much, that we may hope the Irifh ma- 

 nufactures, they have interfered with, may have rifen in con- 

 fequence, 



