CHAPTER LII.

ULSTER.

THE most northerly of the provinces is ULSTER, containing the counties of Antrim, Armagh, Cavan, Donegal, Down, Fermanagh, Derry, Monaghan, and Tyrone. The province of Ulster is hilly. The scenery is in general picturesque, especially in the vicinity of its chief towns, Derry, Belfast, and Armagh. In the county of Antrim, the country from Glenarm to Bengore Head presents a succession of striking and romantic views. The most remarkable feature of this scenery is the peculiar conformation of the basaltic columns with which it abounds, and of which the arrangement is strikingly displayed in Fair Head and the Giant's Causeway. Bengore, one of the promontories of the causeway, lies about seven miles west of the little town of Ballycastle: though generally described as a single headland, it is composed of many small capes and bays, each bearing its own proper name, and of these capes the most perfect is Pleaskin. The summit of Pleaskin is covered with a thin grassy sod, which lies upon the rock, the surface of which is cracked and shivered. About ten or twelve feet from the top, the rock begins to assume a columnar character, and standing perpendicularly to the horizon, presents the appearance of a magnificent colonnade, supported on a foundation of rock nearly sixty feet in height. About eight miles from Pleaskin is Fair Head, the easternmost head of the causeway, which presents a huge mass of columnar stones, of coarse texture, but many of them more than two hundred feet in height. Some of these gigantic stones seem to have fallen from the top, and now present to the eye of the spectator the appearance of groups of artificial ruins. The part which may more properly be called the Giant's Causeway is a kind of quay, projecting from the base of a steep promontory some hundred feet into the sea: it is composed of the heads of pillars of basalt, which are placed in close contact with each other, forming a sort of polygonal pavement, somewhat like the appearance of a solid honeycomb. The pillars are jointed, and their articulation curiously exact, the convex termination of one joint always fitting with precision into a concave socket in the next. Within about two miles of the Giant's Causeway stands Dunluce castle, particularly described on a previous page.

The soil of Ulster varies much. In the counties of Armagh, Down, Antrim, Derry, and Monaghan, it passes from a deep rich fertile clay to a dry sandy or gravelly loam; while in Donegal, Tyrone, Fermanagh, and Cavan, a great proportion of it is cold, wet, and spongy. Tillage is, in general, in an improved state throughout. this province; and, though the old Irish plough and the slide car are still occasionally used in the remoter parts, many of the modern implements of husbandry have been introduced, especially in Down and Londonderry. The English spade has nearly displaced the long or one-sided spade; the angular harrow and the thrashing-machine are much in use, and the Scotch plough has almost superseded the heavy Irish one. The corn crops most general are oats, bere, barley, and a small proportion of wheat. Barley is in Derry said to pay the summer's rent, and flax the winter's. Potatoes are largely planted by rich and poor, and gentlemen-farmers cultivate turnips and mangelwurzel. Lime and peat are the most usual ingredients of the manure employed in the inland districts; while in the maritime countries, sea-sand, sea-weed of different sorts, and various kinds of shells pulverised, are used in addition. From the wetness of the soil, in some of the northern parts of Monaghan, the manure is usually carried to the fields in baskets, called bardocks, which are slung over asses' backs or the shoulders of the poor women. A small but hardy race of horses is reared in the island of Rathlin, or Raghery; and the old Irish sheep still prevails in and near Carey, in the county of Antrim. Pigs, goats, and donkeys, are numerous, the latter being much used in the counties of Cavan and Monaghan. A great deal of butter

is sent to the markets of Belfast, Antrim, and Derry, from the various dairies scattered through Ulster.

Whatever were the manufactures of Ireland before the time of James I., they were swept away in the long series of wars between government and the local chieftains in the days of the Tudors; and the Scottish settlers in the north of Ireland, and those English whom Boyle, earl of Cork, brought into Munster, may be considered the introducers of nearly all the manufactures that now exist in Ireland. During the reigns of Charles I. and II. much attention was paid to them; and the exertions of Lord Strafford, Sir William Temple, and the duke of Ormond, caused the establishment of the linen trade to be attributed successively to each. The duke of Ormond not only procured several acts for its encouragement, but sent Irishmen to Flanders to be instructed in the details of the flax manufacture; and also established a linen factory both at Chapelziod, near Dublin, and at Garrick-on-Suir. In the reign of William III., the linen business rose to still greater importance, from the compact between the English and Irish merchants to discourage the woollen and promote the linen trade; for which purpose they procured a statute to be passed, levying additional duty on Irish woollen goods, from a jealous fear that the prosperity of the Irish woollen trade was inconsistent with the welfare of that of England. Another impetus was given to the linen trade by the emigration of the French manufacturers, after the edict of Nantes, of whom a large number took refuge in Ireland; and Mr. Louis Cromelin, a leading manufacturer, obtained a patent for improving and carrying it on, and his efforts were crowned with considerable success. In the 9th year of Queen Anne, a board of linen and hempen manufactures was established, and linen allowed to be exported, duty free. In the 8th of George I., a grant was given to build a linen-hall, and another to encourage the growth of flax and hemp. Previous to 1778, bleached linen was sold in the fairs, the manufacturer being the bleacher; but when the manufacture extended, bleaching became a separate business. Considerable sums had been from time to time voted by parliament for its support; and during the eighteenth century the trade continued to advance, until the check it received during the American war. On the re-establishment of peace it revived, and was at its greatest height from 1792 to 1796. Since this period it has considerably increased, and, though deprived of all artificial props, in the form of bounties, is now a flourishing department of industry. Belfast is the great centre to which the linens, not only of Ulster but also of the weaving districts in the west of Ireland, are sent for sale; and hence large quantities are exported to foreign countries. The linen trade prospers at Castlewellan, Rathfriland, and Banbridge, in the county of Down, and also at Lurgan in the county of Armagh, where the weavers are at once weavers and manufacturers. At Dungannon, in the county of Tyrone, it has greatly declined, and is in Donegal chiefly confined to those who work for farmers or market sale.

The province of Ulster was also the seat of the first cotton manufactory introduced into Ireland. In 1777 the manufactures were in the lowest state of depression. To give them some stimulus, Mr. Joy conceived the plan of introducing cotton machinery from Scotland; and a firm for this charitable purpose was formed, of Joy, M.Cabe, and M Craken; and a mill for spinning twist by water was erected by them at Belfast in 1784, at which time the manufacture may be said to have been established; and so rapidly did it spread, that, in 1800, in a circuit of ten miles, comprehending Belfast and Lisburn, it gave employment to 27,000 individuals. But, from want of assistance at home to protect it, and the embargo laid on American goods, which inundated Ireland with English manufactures, the trade has declined, and the cotton manufacture is now almost altogether confined to the county of Antrim. Through the early part of the present century, it was carried on to a considerable extent in Drogheda, Collon, Strafford, Mountmellick, Limerick, and Bandon. Belfast was, however, the place where most skill and capital were expended; as the trade increased there, it declined in other parts of the kingdom; and, though large manufactories have formerly been established at Clonmel, Portland, and Limerick, it may for all practical purposes be considered as extinct in the other parts of Ireland.

No returns have been given since the year 1825, when the total number of pounds of cotton wool imported into Ireland was 4,065,930; and of cotton yarn imported thither from Great Britain in the same year, 41,953,156.

Wherever the linen trade is in operation, the people have constant employment, in consequence of being able to fall back upon their looms when agricultural work is

not in demand. They may be said, in common years, to enjoy a competency; that is, a sufficiency of food, raiment, and fuel. But in the western parts of Ulster, as, for example, the mountainous districts of Tyrone, Donegal, and Derry, where the linen manufacture does not exist to any extent, the laboring classes are not much better off than in the three other provinces. However, speaking of Ulster generally, it may be said the lower classes have more self-respect, more industry, more desire for advancement in life, than in other parts of Ireland. In fact, they are a better educated, and therefore a more improving people. As may be expected, their taste for comfort operates in the economy of their houses and farms; and, except in the mountainous districts above alluded to, where old habits still maintain their ground, the Ulster peasantry may be considered as a respectable class in society. The average rent of arable land is from £2 to £3 per acre, usually rising in the immediate neighborhood of towns to £5 or £6. The wages in Ulster vary from 6d. to 9d. a-day in winter, and in summer from 10d. to 1s. a-day without diet. The food of the peasantry is chiefly potatoes, oatmeal porridge, oaten bread, milk, and fish, which those who live near the sea vary with that species of sea-weed called the edible alga.

The salt-water fisheries of Ireland can not be said to have ever thriven. Under the former system of the Irish parliament, of given bounties, large sums were at different times voted for their encouragement; but by this there was no real strength given, and on the withdrawal of these bounties, things fell below their natural level, and the sea-fisheries became altogether inefficient for any purpose but that of supplying the localities surrounding the fisherman's dwelling. The fishery laws are now enforced with regard to both the sea and river fishing, and therefore there is reason to believe that this branch of industry is on the increase, and, if properly managed, will become one of the chief means of benefiting the island. The river fisheries, though less productive than under better management they might have been, yet form in several parts of Ulster a lucrative source of property. The lakes and rivers abound with trout, pike, perch, eels, and char, and on the Bann, the Foyle, and the Ballyshannon in Donegal, are established very successful salmon fisheries. Formerly, whales were not unfrequently, and still are, though but seldom, taken at the coast fisheries in this province. The salmon fisheries of the Foyle and the Bann were early celebrated. In Phillips's MS., they are stated to have been let from 1609 to 1612, at £666, 13s. 4d. a-year, for three years at £860, for eleven years at £1,060, and for twelve years, ending at Easter 1639, at £800. The right of fishing the river Foyle, so far as Lifford, is vested in the Irish society by the charter of Londonderry, granted by James I. in 1613. The increase of the quantity of fish taken since the introduction of stake-nets is very considerable. The salmon for exportation to London and to Liverpool are packed with ice in boxes, fifteen salmon, weighing together about ninety pounds, being put into each case. In a report made to Sir William Petty about 1682, it is stated that the fishing for salmon in the Bann river, and so in all the salmon fisheries, begins with the 1st of May and ends on the last of July. But by the present law, the season now begins the 1st of February and ends on the 1st of September, seven months being open and five close. The Bann fishery has of late years been much neglected; but, under the spirited and judicicus management of Charles Atkinson, Esq., it has been much improved during the last year.

The chief towns in Ulster are Belfast, and Antrim, in the county of Antrim ; Londonderry or Derry, and Coleraine, in the county of Londonderry; Donegal, in the county of the same name; Strabane, in Tyrone; Armagh, in Armagh; and Newry, Lisburn, and Downpatrick, in the counties of Antrim or Down. Without reference to counties, Belfast, Lisburn, Newry, Armagh, and some places of smaller note, may be said to form a cluster of towns chiefly devoted to the linen manufacture, and all occupied by a population who, for generations, have been noted for their industry and peaceful habits.

Belfast is esteemed the principal town and seaport in this province of Ireland. It is advantageously situated on the west side of the Lagan, where that river swells into an estuary called the bay of Belfast: distance from Dublin eighty-five miles. The ground on which the town stands is flat, while the beautiful and fertile environs on the western side of the vale are bounded by a picturesque range of mountains. Within the town, the opposite shore of the Lagan is reached by a long stone bridge, which also forms the egress from Belfast toward Donaghadee. Although this portion of Ireland is inhabited chiefly by Scotch, or their descendants, Belfast, like Dublin, is essentially an English town in external aspect, being built of brick, and hav

ing throughout a neat and regular appearance, with many handsome shops. The prosperity of Belfast is dated from the revolution of 1688, when religious and politi cal tranquillity settled upon that part of Ireland. Belfast is in Ireland what Glasgow is to Scotland and Liverpool to England. In manufactures, it is now the great depot of the linen business, and the seat of the cotton trade, having within itself all the various branches necessary for producing and finishing these fabrics, from the finest cambric to the coarsest canvass. There are in Belfast and its suburbs fifteen steam-power mills, for the spinning of linen yarns. Among these, the factory of Mulholland and company, employing eight hundred persons, spins seven hundred and twenty tons of flax annually, the yarn of which is worth eighty thousand pounds. The hand-spun yarn sold on commission in the linen-hall (a cluster of buildings devoted to the use of linen factors), produces about one hundred thousand pounds a year. The cotton trade is declining, several of the mills being employed in spinning flax; and there are now only six cotton-mills in the town. There are also extensive corn-mills, breweries, distilleries, and tan-yards, with manufactories of machinery, cordage, glass, iron, soap, candles, tobacco, &c., for home use and exportation. In commerce, its exports and imports are extensive; the amount of duties paid at the customhouse of late years averaging nearly four hundred thousand pounds. The number of vessels lately belonging to the port was two hundred and ninety-three, the aggregate burden of which was thirty-two thousand five hundred and sixty-five tons. Latterly, great improvements have been effected for the accommodation of the shipping, by deepening and contracting the harbor, and furnishing handsome and substantial quays, wharfs, and docks. The port usually exhibits a busy scene of industry, by the daily sailing and arrival of ships and steam-vessels. Ten steamers sail regularly-four to Glasgow, three to Liverpool, two to London, and one to Dublin. In the retail trade, the numerous branches are carried on in a spirited and tradesman-like manner; and the various markets for the sale of the rural produce, which is brought in large quantities to town, are well conducted; in a word, the whole system of trade and industry is on an efficient scale, and equals that of any town of similar size in England or Scotland. The prosperity of the town is likely to be augmented by a railway lately opened, which is designed to proceed to Armagh.

Belfast abounds in presbyterian and other dissenters. The episcopal places of worship are only two (some authorities say three) in number but there are ten presbyterian meetinghouses; there are also two meetinghouses of independents; the methodists four; the society of friends one; and the Roman catholics two. The town possesses some excellent charitable and humane institutions: the principal are a poor-house for the aged and infirm, a house of industry, a lunatic asylum, an institution for the blind and for deaf mutes. This institution is on the same plan as that of Liverpool. The blind are employed in weaving and basket-making, and lately, by the introduction of raised letters, they have been instructed in reading. In 1824, there were in the town and parish sixty-three schools of all kinds, at which two thousand one hundred and fifty-two males and one thousand six hundred and sixtysix females were educated, exclusive of the royal academical institution, which in 1825 contained four hundred and sixty-two boys in its various classes. This institu tion originated in 1807, in a voluntary subscription of the inhabitants, by whom a fund was raised of above twenty-five thousand pounds, to which the late marquis of Hastings added five thousand pounds for its erection and the endowment of its teach ers and professors. It consists of two departments, one elementary, the other for the higher branches of science and literature. This establishment is directed by a president, four vice-presidents, twenty managers, and eight visiters, chosen by the proprietory. The chairs in the collegiate department are eight, embracing divinity, moral and natural philosophy, logic, mathematics, Greek, Latin, Hebrew, and a lectureship on Irish. The object of this academy was to give cheap home education to those who had heretofore frequented the Scottish colleges. The synod of Ul. ster receives the general certificates of this institution as a qualification for ordina tion, and it may be now considered the great seminary for the presbyterian church in Ireland. The Belfast academy had been founded some time previously by private subscription.

Of literary societies, Belfast possesses the society for promoting knowledge, founded 1788; the literary society for improvement in literature, science, and antiquities, founded 1821. The town has lately received the valuable addition of a bo

tanic garden, on a large scale, and laid out in an exceedingly tasteful manner. It was established and is wholly supported by the inhabitants of Belfast, and affords a pleasing proof of their spirit and liberality. The population in 1831 was fifty-three thousand two hundred and eighty-seven, but this number is now considerably increased.

Londonderry ranks next to Belfast. Besides being a seaport of considerable importance, it is the seat of a bishop's see. It is situated on the west bank of the Foyle, a few miles above the point where that river spreads into the harbor of Loch Foyle, and is distant one hundred and forty-six miles from Dublin. The original town, built by Sir Henry Dowera about 1603-'04, was burnt by Sir Cahir O'Dogherty in 1608; and the present city may be considered as deriving its origin from the London plantation, which was the immediate result of that catastrophe. The walls of Derry are described by Pynnar as "excellently made, and neatly wrought; the circuit thereof about two hundred and eighty-four perches, and in every place the wall being twenty-four feet high and six in thickness;" and, after a lapse of more than two centuries, these fortifications retain their original form and character. The north west bastion was demolished in 1824, to make room for a market; and in 1826 the central western bastion was modified for the reception of Walker's testimonial; but the guns used during the celebrated siege are still preserved in their original places. The total number of cannon remaining in the city and suburbs is about fifty; and in the courthouse yard stands Roaring Meg, so called from the loudness of her report during the siege. This cannon is four feet six inches round at the thickest part, and eleven feet long, and is thus inscribed-" FISHMONGERS, LONDON, 1642." The chief of the ecclesiastical buildings is the cathedral. For nearly twenty years after its plantation, Derry was without a proper place of worship, part of the ruined church of St. Augustine being employed for that purpose. At length a royal commission of inquiry was appointed, which, in 1628, reported that the corporation of London had begun to build a fair church in Derry, and in 1633 its erection was completed. This event is recorded in a tablet, which was originally placed over the door of the porch of the old cathedral, but is now over that of the belfrey, bearing the following couplet:—

"If stones could speak. then London's praise should sound,

Who built this church and city from the ground.-A. D. 1633.” The other principal places of worship are, a chapel of ease, a free church, two presbyterian meetinghouses, a Wesleyan chapel, a primitive Wesleyan methodist chapel, also reformed presbyterian, seceding, and independent chapels, and a Roman catholic chapel, which can accommodate two thousand persons. The principal buildings in the city are the bishop's palace, the public library and news-room, the lunatic asylum, the jail, and the corporation hall. Of its various manufactories, the chief are two great distilleries, and two corn-mills, one worked by a steam-engine of eighteen the other by one of twenty horse-power. The public schools in Derry are, the diocesan, the parochial, the presbyterian, the meetinghouse, St. Columb's, the barracks, and the infant school; and besides these are many others, public and private. There is here a branch of the London Bible society, the Londonderry literary society, and one for promoting religious, moral, and historical knowledge. There are also the Londonderry farmers' society, and the mechanics' institution. The port carries on a considerable traffic, both with respect to imports of foreign and British produce, and exports. The estimated value of the exports of Irish produce is above one million sterling per annum. The population of Londonderry in 1831, was ten thousand one hundred and thirty.

The city of Armagh, situated in an inland part of the country, is of considerable local importance. It is placed in the midst of a rich and beautiful district, the face of which is singularly varied by detached hills, some of which are more than a thousand feet in height. This character of country stretches from Lough Neagh in the north to the northwestern part of the county of Meath, in the south, and is well watered by lakes and streams, and, generally speaking, richly furnished with wood. The city stands on a hill, which is crowned by the old cathedral, around which the town has gradually arisen. Within these few years, several handsome buildings have been erected, with cut stone fronts-the courthouse, the jail, the presbyterian church, Primate Stewart's free school, founded and liberally endowed by him, and well carried on; the national school, and the savings' bank. The cathedral has been re-edified within these five vears, at an expense exceeding 30,000Z.,