Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 13.djvu/247

 MANUFACTURES.] IRELAND 231 in 1822, one-third of the quantity of woollen cloth used in Ireland was imported from England, the value being about one-half. The number of persons employed in the manu facture was 6500, while worsted stuffs and flannels employed each about 3000 more, in addition to which probably other 35,000 were dependent on these workers for their liveli hood. According to a return presented to parliament in 1837, the number of woollen or worsted factories in Ireland was 46, all situated in Dublin or in the southern counties of Ireland, the number of workers employed being 1321 ; and in a special return relating to factories for 1839 the number of woollen mills is stated as 31, employing 5 steam engines with a horse-power of 58, and 39 water- wheels with a horse-power of 523, the number of workers being 1231. Table XXIII. gives the number of factories, spindles, power-looms, and persons employed in the woollen and worsted manufacture at various periods from 1850. In addition to this, a large number of persons are employed in handloom weaving,- farming in many cases also occupying part of their time. Linen Manufacture. The linen manufacture of Ireland has suffered from legislation chiefly indirectly from the trade restrictions which hampered the commerce of the country generally, and from the depressing influence of an unsatis- factory socialsystem and unfavourable agricultural relations. At a very early period flax was to some extent cultivated in Ireland, and was both spun into thread, which was exported to foreign countries, and manufactured into cloth, which was made use of for cloaks, for the headdresses of women, and for shrouds. But although the manufacture was so well known in the beginning of the loth century as to be noticed in an English poem of that period, and is mentioned in a statute of Henry VIII. as constituting along with that of wool one of the principal branches of the trade of Ireland, there is no probability that it would have rivalled that of wool unless it had been artificially fostered and the latter artificially all but annihilated. The earl of Strafford, lord- deputy in the reign of Charles I., with a view both to dis courage the woollen manufacture of Ireland and to obtain for England a cheaper supply of linen than was to be had from France or Holland, as well as probably to benefit himself, invested as much as 30,000 of his fortune in the promotion of the linen trade, and not only imported flax- seed in large quantities from Holland, but offered premiums to induce skilled workmen from France and the Netherlands to settle in Ireland. A similar policy was vigorously prosecuted by his successor the duke of Ormond, who in 1665 procured the passing of an Act by the Irish parliament to encourage the growth of flax and the manufacture of linen, In addition to this he despatched persons to the Netherlands to obtain a knowledge of the best mode of manufacture, and he brought over a number of families from Brabant and others from France and Jersey whom he settled at Carrick and at Chapelizod near Dublin, in both which places he established flourishing factories. Follow ing the same line of policy, an Act was passed by the English parliament inviting foreign workmen to settle in Ireland, and admitting all articles made of flax or hemp into England duty free, a privilege which, according to the report of the Irish House of Commons in 1774, gave Ireland an advantage over foreign nations of 25 per cent. In 1698 the Irish parliament, in answer to the representa tions of England, promised that they would &quot;heartily endeavour to establish a linen and hempen manufacture,&quot; but this promise was at first only fulfilled by levying prohibitory duties on the exports of woollens, and the linen trade in 1701 had made such comparatively small pro gress that the value of the exports of cloth was only 14,112, and of the exports of linen thread 39,106, 18s. 4d. In 1705 the Irish were, however, permitted to export their white and brown linens to the British colonies, but not their striped and dyed linens, which were also excluded from England by a prohibitory duty of 30 per cent. In 1710, in accordance with an arrangement entered into between the two king doms, a board of trustees was appointed to whom a con siderable sum was granted annually for the promotion of the manufacture ; but the jealousy of England nevertheless interposed to check the manufacture whenever it threatened to interfere with her own trade, and by an Act of the 23d of George II., which imposed a tax on Irish sailcloth imported into England, the hempen manufacture was virtually annihilated. From 1700 to 1777 the sum expended by the Board of Trustees on the promotion of the linen trade, according to tables given by Arthur Young, amounted to 847,504, the annual average amount for the fifteen years up to 1772 being 14,100. In addi tion to this bounties were granted for the import of flax- seed, which during seven years up to 1777 averaged 15,094 annually; and a special parliamentary bounty was also paid annually, which in 1777 amounted to 4000, and from 1700 to that date to 192,540. At first the total sum applied to the encouragement of the trade was very small, being in 1700 only 100, and in 1703 430 ; but the grants increased rapidly from 1716, and altogether between 1700 and 1777 they amounted to 1,295,560, the total annual average grant for the seven years ending 1777 being 33,540. The linen manufacture of England was, however, also encouraged by bounties, which according to the statistics of M. Cesar Moreau amounted in 1824 to 73,392, those of Ireland amount ing only to 17,528. Table XXIV., compiled from TABLE XXIII. Woollen and Worsted Factories in Ireland, 1850-1879. Xumbcr of Factories. Spinning Swindles. Doubling Spindles. Power Looms. Persons Employed. 1850. 18C1. 1870. 1879. 1850. 1861. 1870. 1879. 1850. 1861. 1870. 1879. 1850. 1861. 1870. 1879. 1850. 18fil. 1870. 1870. Woollen factories.... &quot;Worsted factories.... 9 2 39 3 61 3 74 O 14,458 1,552 18,574 4,700 28,348 1,768 40,205 288 1547 252 4942 134 22 123 241 10 411 553 72 862 175 1490 75 1975 47 Total 11 42 64 76 16,010 23,274 30,116 40,493 ... 11799 5076 22 123 251 411 625 1037 1565 2022 1 TABLE XXIV. Exports of Linen Cloth and Tarn from Ireland, 1710 -1823. 1710. 1730. 1700. 1770. 1790. 1800. 1810. 1820.

1823. Linen cloth, yards 1,688,574 105.537 7975 47,852 4,136,203 206,810 10,088 55,485 11,200,460 653,360 22,373 134,238 20,560,754 1,370,716 33,417 200,502 37,446,133 35,890,050 2,499,841 2,394,445 31,572 12,201 189,437 73,207 37,165,039 2,478,528 13,701 82,206 37,464,279 2,497,618 5,553 33,320 46,464,363 3,097,524 4,583 27,502 ., value Yarn, cuts ,, value Total value 153,389 262,295 787,598 1,571,218 2,689,278 2,467,652 2,560,734 ! 2,530,938 3,125,026