420 THE BRITISH ISLES. 



seated at its northern extremity, prefers to export its produce through the neigh- 

 houring Donagliadco, which has the advantage of lying on the open sea. Comber, 

 on the north-western side of tlie lough, is only a small place with a little linen trade, 

 like all the other towns of the county. Bangor and Ilohju-ood are pleasant watering- 

 places on the Belfast Lough. 



Banhruhje, on the river Bann, which flows to Lough Ncagh, is the centre of 

 the inland portion of the county. It is built on the steep declivity of a hill, with 

 footpaths often raised 25 feet above the pavement. Here and at Gilford, Dromore, 

 and HillshoroiKjh the manufacture of linen is the staple trade. Near Gilford is 

 Tanderagee Castle, the seat of the Duke of Manchester, whilst Dromore was 

 formerly the residence of a bishop. 



The county of Antrim forms the north-eastern extremity of Ireland, and 

 consists of a volcanic table-land, forming bold cliffs along the coast, and sinking 

 down inland toward the plain bordering upon Lough IN^eagh and the river Bann. 

 It is the centre of the Irish linen industry. 



Belfast, its capital, is the chief city of Ireland for its industry, though not the 

 first in population. In 1G12 the land upon which this flourishing city has arisen 

 was given by James I. to one of his favourites, whose descendant, the Marquis of 

 Donegal, still owns the whole of it, with its palatial warehouses, factories, and 

 suburbs. Belfast, of all Irish towns, increases most rapidly in population. About 

 the middle of the seventeenth century it only had 7,000 inhabitants ; in 1821, 

 37,000 ; and at present about six times that number. Its shipping has increased 

 even at a more rapid rate, and Belfast is now abreast of Dublin, if not in advance 

 of it. As the narrow river Lagan afforded but scant shelter for shipping, 

 docks have been constructed, and a cut was formed in 1840 through sands 

 cumbering the lough, by which means vessels drawing from 1 G to 20 feet of water 

 can now come up to the town with the tide. Most of the ti'ade of the port is carried 

 on in steamers. 



It is the linen trade, very ancient in the country, but much developed l.y 

 Flemish and French immigrants, which has made Belfast a prosperous city, and of 

 all its factories those devoted to the spinning and weaving of flax are still the 

 most important. A society for the Promotion and Improvement of the Growth 

 of Flax in Ireland has its seat in Belfast, and to its beneficial action must be 

 ascribed the fact that most of the raw material consumed in its factories is grown 

 in the country of which it is the industrial centre. In addition to flax-mills, there 

 are cotton factories, foundries, machine shops, and large establishments in which the 

 fancy boxes intended to hold Irish lace and other delicate textiles are made. 

 Belfast, at the same time, can boast important institutions for the education of the 

 people. It has its Museum and Botanical Garden, its non-sectarian Queen's 

 Colleges, and colleges of the Presbyterian and Methodist communities. Yet, 

 notwithstanding these educational agencies, there is no town in Ireland where 

 " assault and battery " is a more frequent offence, and the anniversary of the battle 

 of the Boyne rarely passes without opposing mobs of Orangemen and Catholic 

 Home Tlulers coraino: to blows. 



