IRELAND, 313 



other ports of Ireland, taken together. Hence there is a great resort 

 of ships to this port, particularly of those hound from Great Britain 

 to Jamaica, Barbadoes, and all the Caribbee islands, which put in 

 here to victual and complete their lading. It appears, that in the 

 reign of Edward IV, there were eleven churches in Cork, though, 

 there are now only seven, and yet it has ever since that time been 

 esteemed a thriving city : but it must be observed, that besides the 

 churches, there are at this lime six mass-houses, two dissenting meet~ 

 ing-hot<:ses, another for quakers, and a chapel for French protestants. 

 Kin-sale is a populous and strong town, with an excellent harbour, and 

 considerable commerce and shipping. Waterford is reckoned next 

 to Cork lor riches and shipping; but it suffered greatly in the late 

 rebellion, and cannot now be estimated to contain above 30,000 in- 

 habitants. It is commanded by Duncannon Fort, and on the west 

 side of the town is a citadel.* Limerick is a handsome, populous, com- 

 mercial, strong city ; it lies on both sides the Shannon, and contains 

 5257 houses, and about 45,000 inhabitants. 



Belfast is a large, sea-port, and trading town, at the mouth of the 

 Lagen Water, where it falls into Carrickfergus Bay. Downpatrick 

 has a flourishing linen manufacture. Carrickfergus, or Knockfergus, 

 by some deemed the capital town of the province, has a good har- 

 bour and castle, but little commerce. Deny, or Londonderry, as it 

 is most usually called, stands on Lough-Foyl, is a strong little city, 

 having linen manufactures, with some shipping. Donegal, the county 

 town of the same name, otherwise called the county of Tyrconnel, is 

 a place of some trade, as IS likewise Enniskilling. 



Commerce and manufactures. ...The exports of Ireland are linen 

 cloth, yarn, lawns, and cambrics, horses and black cattle, beef, pork, 

 green hides, tanned leather, calf-skins dried, tallow, butter, candles, 

 cheese, ox and cow horns, ox hair, horse hair, lead, copper ore, her- 

 rings, dried fish, rabbit skins and fur, otter skins, goat skins, salmon, 

 and some other commodities. In the year 1799, the exports from 

 Ireland amounted to 4,575,256/. and her imports to 4,396,009/. The 

 manufacture of linen yields an exportation to the amount of nearly 

 2,000,000/. annually. The Irish have carried their inland manufac- 

 tures, even those of luxury, to a considerable height; and their lord- 

 lieutenants and their courts have of late encotiraged them by their 

 examples, and while they are in that government, make use of no 

 other. 



Government and laws. ...Ireland formerly was only entitled the 

 dominion or lordship of Ireland, and the king's style was no other than 

 dominus Hibernise, lord of Ireland, till the 33d year of king Henry 

 VIII, when. he assumed the title of king, which is recognised by act 

 of parliament in the same reign 



Before the. union in 1801, Ireland was governed by its own parlia- 

 ment consisting of a house of commons, composed of 300 members, 

 and a house of peers, while the king was represented by a lord- 

 lieutenant or viceroy. By the articles of union, which took place on 

 the 1st of January, 1801, England, Scotland, and Ireland, have be- 

 came one kingdom, by the name of the United Kingdom of Great 

 Britain and Ireland. The office of lord-lieutenant is still continued. 

 Of the peers of Ireland at the time of the union, four spiritual lords, 

 by rotation of sessions, and twenty-eight temporal peers for life, sit 

 and vote in the house of lords ; and one hundred commoners, viz. 

 two for each county of Ireland, two for the city of Dublin, two for 



Vol. I, S s 



