BELFAST, the chief t. of the co. of Antrim and province of Ulster in Ireland. This great seaport stands at the embouchure of the Lagan, at the head of Belfast lough, 12 tn. from the Irish sea, 101 n. of Dublin, 36 n.e. of Armagh, 130 s.w. of Glasgow, and 150 n.w. of Liverpool. The site is chiefly on nn alluvial deposit not more than 6 ft. above the sea-level, and reclaimed from the marshes of the Lagan. On the land side, it is picturesquely bounded by the ridges of Divis (1567 ft, high): and Cave 11111 (1185 ft.). The general aspect of II. is indicative of life and prosperity, exhibiting all the trade and manufacture of Glasgow and Manchester, with far less of their smoke and dirt. Many of the streets, especially in the White Linen Hall quarter, are well built and spacious. The mercantile quarter lies chiefly near the extensive and well-built quays. The manu factories are mostly on the rising ground on the n. and w. of the town. Numerous villas sprinkle the northern shores of the bay, as well as the elevated suburb of 31alone to the south. The chief public buildings are—Queen's college, a beautiful structure in the Tudor style, opened in 1849, with a revenue of £7000 from the consolidated fund; royal ncademical institution, incorporated in 1810, affiliated to the London university, and comprising an elementary and collegiate department, and a school of design; museum. Linen hall, commercial and corn exchanges, churches, and banks. The tine botanic gardens of the natural history society occupy 17 acres. B. is the chief seat of the trade and manufactures of Ireland, and is second only to Dublin as an Irish port. The staple manufactures are linen and cotton. The linen manufacture dates from 1637. Cotton
spinning by machinery dates from 1777, and linen from 1806. The other chief branches of industry are linen and cotton weaving, bleaching, dyeing, calico-printing, and iron founding. There are many flour and oil mills, chemical works, breweries, alabaster and Willis mills, saw-mills, ship-building, rope, and sail-cloth yards. The iron ship building yard on Queen's island employs upwards of 2000 hands. The inland trade is carried on by the Lagan, the Ulstercanal, and three railways. The harbor has recently undergone very extensive improvements, adding 25 acres of area to the dock accommo dation, and a mile of quayage, making B. one of the first-class ports of the United Kingdom. Before the recent improvements there were only 2 tidal docks; since 1866, 4 new docks and a tidal basin have been opened. On these a sum of .£369,927 was expended, the assets of the commissioners being £938,421. In 1877, 8913 vessels, of an aggregate tonnage of 1,770,685 tons, entered the port; and 5625, of 1,357,021 tons, cleared. The customs duties in 1877 amounted to £488,930. The most important branch of commerce is the channel trade. In 1879, 16 newspapers were published in B. Pop. '21, 37,000; '51, 108,000; '71, 174,412. B. is governed by a corporation of 10 aldermen— one being mayor—and 30 councilors. It returns 2 inemhers to parliament. R. was destroyed by Edward Bruce in the 14111 c., but became nn important town since 1604, receiving a charter in 1611. In the great civil war, the inhabitants at first joined the parliament, but afterwards became royalists.