IRELAND. 
368 
taken. In the year ending 5th January, 1811, the exports 
of Irifh produce and manufactures amounted, according 
to their current value, to 10,781,0501. though eftimated 
officially at only 5,4.71,012!. exclufive of foreign produce 
valued .at 627,4.72!. The official value of imports was 
6,564,5781. being confiderably lefs than that of the two 
preceding, years. The number of Irifh veil els which en¬ 
tered inwards into the Several ports of Ireland in the fame 
ye.ir was 1982, carrying 130,991 tons and 8983 men; 
while that of Britifh. velfeis was 7514, carrying 673,540 
tons and 38,536 men. The number of Iriffi veffels which 
cleared outwards was 1841, carrying 125,339 tons and 
8650 men ; and of Britilh 6931, carrying 627,012 tons, and 
35,595 men. Thus the total amount of the tonnage of 
■ Britilh Ships in the Irifh trade was 1,300,561 tons, yield¬ 
ing at thirty (hillings a ton, a. profit, of near two millions 
.Sterling to the fhip-owners of Britain. On the 30th Sep¬ 
tember, i 3 io, the number of velfeis belonging to the fe- 
veral ports of Ireland was 1116, carrying 58,64.6 tons, and 
navigated by 5416 men and boys. 
In the fame year the grofs receipt, of the ordinary reve¬ 
nue of Ireland was 6,233,6221. the total expenditure, in¬ 
cluding extraordinarie.s, parliamentary grants, annuities, 
&c. amounted to 10,853,4001. the funded debt was 
89,728,992!. Irifh currency, and the unfunded debt 142,7091. 
Among the different natural advantages which may be 
employed in augmenting the wealth of a nation, its ji/Ii- 
erics defervea diltinguifhed place; and in refpeft of thefe, 
'Providence 1 has been remarkably bountiful to Ireland. 
“ The fifheiy of Ireland,” fays fir William Temple, “ might 
prove a mine under water, as rich as any under ground, 
if it were, improved to the vaft advantages it is capable 
of;” and Mr. Young remarks, “that there, is fcarcely a 
part of Ireland but wliat is well fituated for fome fifliery 
of confequence, and that her coafts, and innumerable 
creeks and rivers’ mouths, are the refort of valt flioals of 
'herrings, cod, ling, hake, mackarel, &c. which might, 
with proper attention, be converted into funds of wealth.” 
At the fame time the inland waters are perhaps better 
-tlored, and the fifh contained in them of a fize luperior to 
thofe found elfewhere in the united kingdom. 
Prodigious quantities of herrings were formerly taken 
bv the Irifh fifhermen. In 1779, the number or veffels. 
. which claimed the bounty, offered by parliament for the 
encouragement of the fifheries, was 410, by which 156,757 
half-barrels of herrings, 274,183 hake, 53,095 ling, and 
80,085 cod, were taken. From the 14th December 1782,10 
the 14th February 1783, upwards of 23 millions of herrings 
were caught near the Rofies, off the coaft of Donegal, 
and fold on the fpot at .fiveTrillings a thoufand ; and the 
Committee of'Fifheries was allured, that in 1782 as many 
herrings might have been taken at the fame place as would 
have loaded all the fhips in England. In the fummer of 
1784, the take of thefe fifh was fo great upon the north- 
weft coaft, and the demand fo inconfiderable, that prodi¬ 
gious numbers were thrown away, and great quantities 
boiled for oil, which was fold at iod. a gallon for burning. 
In that.year 514 veffels were engaged in the Iriffi fifliery, 
which turnifh'ed employment for 3723 men and boys. 
Since 1785, however, the herring-fiffiery of Ireland has 
greatly declined ; though thefe fifh Hill frequent the nu¬ 
merous harbours and rivers’ mouths in fufficient quantity 
to fupply the neighbouring diftrifts, and leave a fmall 
lurplus for foreign markets. Sprats Hill arrive in prodi¬ 
gious fhoals: Mr. Newenhatn informs us that immenfe 
quantities of oil are obtained from them at Kinfale, and 
their remains ufed for manure. Cod, ling, and hake, are 
in as great abundance as. ever. The report of captain 
■Fraler, in 1801, refpefting the fiffiery on the Nymph Bank, 
off the Ibuth-eaft coaft, reprefents it in an extremely fa¬ 
vourable light, and he confiders it as fuperiorto the fifhary 
on the Dogger Bank. Plaice, foie, haddock, turbot, and 
. cod, abound on many parts of the coaft, and are extremely 
cheap. 
The falmon-fifheries are numerous, and highly produc¬ 
tive. Mr. Daniel dates that, in 17S0, 1452 film on were 
taken at one drag in the river Bann ; that the fialmon- 
iifhery there lets for 6000I. and the eel-fifhery for 1000L 
.a-year. The rivers Shannon, .Suit, Blackwater, Boyne, 
Lift’ey, Lee, Earne, Efky, Moy, Lackaji, Lane, Carra, 
Feale, the'-Newport: River, that which runs through Lough 
Corrib into the fea, and.feveral others in various parts of 
the country, abound with falmon in general of a luperior 
quality. The ordinary price is-from 2d. to 4d. a-pound. 
Befides falmon, the rivers and lakes contain a great 
abundance of various other kinds of fifti. The Shannon 
affords a profufion; immenfe pike, bream, and the gillaroo 
trout, which laft is found in ftill greater quantity in Lough 
.Corrib and Lough Mafk. Char is met with in Lough 
Eafk and other lakes, and plenty of lampreys in. the.Bann. 
Mr. Young,- in order to give fome idea of the prodigious 
quantity of fifh in the lakes of Weftmeath, informs us, 
that a child with a crooked pin and packthread will catch 
perch enough in an hour for a family to live upon the 
.whole day. Befides perch, the lakes l'upply bream, tench, 
trouts of the weight of ten pounds, large pike, and fine 
. eels. 
In refpeft of materials for the conftruftion of good and 
durable roads, Ireland is molt happily circumftanced. 
With the exception of four or five counties, as we have 
feen, lime-ftone and lime-ftone gravel, which are excellent 
materials for this purpofe, are found in the greateft abun¬ 
dance in almoft every diftrift. This may account for the 
fuperiority of the roads in Ireland over thofe of England, 
which, about thirty years ago, appeared fo furprifing to 
Mr. Young: “For a country,” fays he, “fo far behind 
us as Ireland, to have got fuddenly fo much the ftart of 
us in the article of roads, is a fpeftacle that cannot fas! 
to (trike the EngliHi traveller exceedingly. I could trace 
a route upon paper as wild as fancy could dictate, and 
everywhere find beautiful roads without break or hind¬ 
rance to enable ine to realize my defign.” Since that 
writer vifited Ireland, the roads have become much more 
numerous, and are, in general, in better condition. Sandy 
foils, which render roads fo heavy, are nowhere met with 
in Ireland, except in a very few places near the coaft. 
In proportion to its extent, few countries have fo many, 
and none perhaps fuch good roads as.Ireland. The turn¬ 
pike roads, it is true, are much lefs numerous in propor¬ 
tion than thofe of England, and are for the greateft part 
ftill inferior to the others, but have been confiderably im¬ 
proved fince the eftablifliment of mail-coaches. When 
Mr. Young was in Ireland, about thirty years ago, he 
learned that the money annually raifed by grand juries 
for roads, .bridges, jails, &c. amounted to 140,000!. or 
about 2|d. per Irifh acre. According to the returns pre¬ 
fen ted to parliament, it now exceeds 520,000k and the 
general average is about io|d. per acre. After making 
due allowance for the great increafe of wages in the in¬ 
termediate time, and fome additional demands on the 
counties, we may fafely infer, with Newenham, that the 
public works annually undertaken for the improvement 
of the country, are now twice as numerous or extenfive 
as they were at the former period. 
The attention of the legiflature began early in the laft 
century to be directed to the important fubject of inland 
navigation in Ireland. In the fecond year of George I. an 
aft was paffed for the two-fold objeft of the improvement of 
this method of communication, and the draining of the bogs 
and wafte lands. This aft mentions not lefs than thirty- 
two rivers, which were found by aftual furvey to be fit 
and capable of being rendered navigable; and whofe united 
length,.in addition to that of the Shannon and of the pro¬ 
jected canals, exceed one thoufand miles. When this 
great national improvement was propofed, Ireland was a 
mere land of pafture, thinly peopled, and poor. Private in¬ 
dividuals had neither means nor inducements to engage in 
the intended works; and government was neither compe¬ 
tent, confidently with its preferibed expences, nor perhaps 
in reality willing, to profecute and complete them. Some 
