Page:History of merchant shipping and ancient commerce (Volume 2).djvu/263

 which were looked upon as aliens in race as well as religion. As the Irish were successful in their demand for freedom of trade and industry, England now passed successive Acts by which certain goods were allowed to be shipped directly from Ireland to the British plantations in America and to the British settlements in Africa; Irish-built ships were declared to be entitled to the same privileges as British; and, by the 20th George III. chap. 10, free trade with these countries was guaranteed. No practical results, however, followed from these concessions, the Irish having, from some cause or other, it may have been from want of capital or continuous industry, rarely given any real attention to mercantile, and especially maritime pursuits. For a brief period they possessed the dangerous gift of an independent legislature, which, however, happily ceased its functions some twenty years afterwards, when a hopeless rebellion had been extinguished; nor indeed, even now, though possessing so many natural advantages, has Ireland progressed beyond a thriving coasting trade; while her efforts to encourage extensive fisheries even along her own coasts have proved unsuccessful. Indeed, it was only at a later period that her manufactures and her agriculture became the objects of national attention. Yet, with her fine harbours, rich soil, generous people, and admirable geographical position, it might have been hoped that Ireland would have taken a leading position as a naval power, or rather, as a commercial and maritime country.

While Ireland continued to be a clog on the in-*