Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 13.djvu/250

 234 IRELAND [COMMERCE. Boate, writing in 1652, gives a description of the various havens of Ireland. Sir William Petty estimated that between 1G57 and 1672 her foreign trade had doubled, and that before the statute of 1663 &quot; three-fourths of the Ireland foreign trade was with England, but now not one-fourth part of the same.&quot; The value of exports he computes at 500,000 per annum. About the time he was writing, the inhibition against exports to Great Britain was extended to include both dead meat and also butter and cheese. A trade was, however, carried on at this time with France, Spain, and Italy, not only in cattle and agricultural produce, but in salmon and herrings as well as various kinds of manufacture ; but Arthur Dobbs was of opinion that from the Restora tion until 1688 the exports of Ireland never exceeded .600,000 per annum. In 1681 the exports amounted to 582,814, and the imports to 433,040. On account of previous wars the exports in 1695 amounted to only 295,592, the imports exceeding them by 95,932 ; but owing chiefly to the prosperity of the woollen trade they had risen in 1698 to 996,305, the imports amounting to 576,863. Upon the prohibition of the exports of woollen manufactures to foreign countries,. a rapid fall took place in the exports, which, although the value of those to Great .Britain remained much the same, did not reach to the amount of 1698 until 1714, the recovery being due in part to the gradual increase of the linen manufacture, the value of whose exports rose between 1700 and 1714 from 14,112 to 313,329. Table XXVII, compiled from statistics given by Newenham, Arthur Young, and M. Cesar Moreau, gives the annual value for 1698, and the average annual value for various periods from 1701 to 1823 of Irish exports and imports from and to all parts of the world, and from and to Great Britain. A better idea of the commercial progress of the country would have been obtained if space had been available for tables of the different articles of export and import, for, besides giving more detailed information, it would have afforded a more accurate basis for an estimate, since Table XXVII. is so far vitiated by being given in Irish currency, which was altered at various periods, and by the fact that the method of rating at the custom TABLE XXVII. Average Annual Value (in Irish Currency) of Exports and Imports, 1698-1823. Average Annual Exports. Average Annual Imports. All parts of the World. Great Britain. All parts of the World. Great Britain.

. 1698 996,305 293,813 576,863 33,968 1701-1710 553,023 242,811 513,657 242,811 1711-1720 1,126,670 348,352 852,905 361,921 1721-1730 1,019,809 489,546 856,936 329,078 1731-1740 1,190,253 667,505 885,044 378,588 1741-1750 1,485,110 872,259 1,123,373 611,999 1751-1760 2,002,354 1,068,983 1,594,164 734,548 1761-1770 i 2,365,080 1,818,594 1,877,468 1,032,431 1771-1773 3,020,062 1,955,469 2,136,173 1,291,616 1774-1783 3,035,560 2,380,899 2,702,978 1,984,811 1784-1793 ! 4,373,094 3,358,962 3,723,295 2,508,250 1794-1803 ! 4,310,610 3,667,474 4,572,443 3,404,798 1804-1813 | 5,380,876 4,689,922 6,618,613 4,646,873 1814-1823 6,963,451 5,675,673 6,626,409 4,921,879 house has also varied. On the latter account it was reported to the House of Commons in 1811 that the augmentation of trade during the 18th century appeared from such valuations to be greater than it really was. The increase has, however, been considerable, for we find that between 1710 and 1777 the quantity of linen exported had risen from 1,688,574 to 19,714,638 yards, while the export of oats, wheat, and barley had been nearly quadrupled, and there was also a large increase in the exports of live cattle, and of beef, butter, and pork. The table shows a large increase, especially in the value of exports, after the peace in 1748, and, while there is a diminution shortly before the passing of the Acts granting free trade, there is a rapid revival after that period ; and there arc also very evident signs of the prosperity Ireland was experiencing during the wars with France. Since the cessation of the shipping duties on the cross channel trade in 1825, there are no data for obtaining accurate details regarding the trade with Great Britain ; and, in addition to this, the Board of Trade has ceased since 1870 to give returns of the foreign and colonial trade for each of the separate kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland. Returns are given, however, for the principal ports of each kingdom. Table XXVIII. gives the value of the foreign and colonial trade of Ireland at various periods clown to 1870, and of its principal ports for 1875 and 1879. Another means of estimating the commercial progress of Ireland during this period is supplied by the returns of shipping. Prior in his Observations on the Trade of Ireland gives an estimate of the tonnage of the shipping engaged in the trade of Ireland from 1721 to 1727, according to which the number of ships in the former year was 3499 with a burthen of 158,422 tons, while Arthur Dobbs gives their number for the same year as 3334 with a tonnage of 158,414, and their number in 1714 as 3081 with a ton nage of 161,115. The tonnage of the ships belonging to the ports of Ireland in 1727 is given by Prior as 40,469, the total number of ships trading with Ireland being 3494, with a tonnage of 173,193. According to the statistics of M. Moreau the number of Irish ships in 1788 was 1016, the tonnage being 60,776, or a third more than in 1727; and in 1826 they had increased to 1391, with a tonnage of 90,768. Table XXIX. gives the number and tonnage of vessels registered in the ports of Ireland in 1840, 1850, 1860, 1870, and 1880. According to the statistics of M. Moreau, the number of ships that entered the ports of Ireland in 1795 was 7086, with a tonnage of 630,506, and in 1801 they had increased to 7690, with a tonnage of 711,242. Returns of the trade and navigation of Ireland have since the Union been annually presented to parliament. Table XXX. gives the number of British and Irish and foreign vessels engaged in the foreign and colonial trade that entered and cleared at the ports of Ireland at various periods from 1802 ; Table XXXI. the number of ships that entered and cleared coastways in various years during the same period ; and Table XXXII. the number of ships engaged in intercourse between Great Britain and Ireland that entered and cleared British and Irish ports at various periods from 1835, the figures in this table of course repre senting about double the number of ships actually engaged in the trade. TABLE XXVIII. Foreign and Colonial Trade of Ireland, 1828-79. Annual average for 1828-30. 1840. 1850. 1800. 1S70. 1875. 1S79. Imports. Exports. Imports. Exports. Imports. Exports. Imports. Exports. Imports. Exports. Imports. Exports. Imports. Exports.

1,573,545

839,014

1,659,934

472 537

6,031,569

268,611 _g 7,122,237

284,362

8,725,211

238,452

11,828,511

326,095 10,994,359

830,878