China markets, for the natives found their home-made calicoes 

 much better, and the outcry that was raised at the time taught 

 the Manchester manufacturers that honesty was the best policy. 

 During the American war the linen trade in Belfast was parti- 

 cularly good. Cotton could not be procured, and linen had to 

 make up the deficiency. To supply the place of domestic calico 

 a kind of half bleached linen was introduced. No doubt, so far 

 as home consumption was concerned, a splendid opportunity 

 was lost of placing the linen trade on a more extended basis. 

 When cotton again became plentiful it was bought in preference 

 to linen. It seemed to him that we do not sufficiently introduce 

 art in connection with our local linen manufacture, the bulk of 

 our production being plain goods. This did very well so long 

 as a good demand existed for white goods, but unfortunately 

 the white linen trade has been a decreasing one. As far as his 

 experience goes, in the home trade there is not one piece of 

 white linen sold in Ireland for the dozen pieces sold twenty five 

 or thirty years ago. People now order their shirts from the 

 manufacturers, and the latter have introduced a variety of other 

 fabrics which have taken the place of linen. The peasantry of 

 Connaught, who are very conservative in the matter of cloth- 

 ing, are the only people in the country who to any extent wear 

 white shirts. He had brought with him a variety of samples 

 of linen goods, and goods made of linen and cotton, in which a 

 considerable amount of skill and artistic taste was displayed. 

 These goods are made in Germany, and are sold by the 

 agents of German houses both in England and Ireland. The 

 Germans are now pushing the English manufacturers very 

 close in many things. There is in this country a favourable 

 opening for dress fabrics in linen, and mixtures of linen and 

 cotton. For some time past the Irish people have given the 

 preference to home made goods of a suitable kind. There has 

 not been much done in Belfast in this direction yet, and he 

 thought there would be a considerable outlet if some good 

 designs were introduced. 



