The principal fisheries in It eland arc those of 'wirings and salmon; the herrings caught off the coast neat Gal way, are particularly large and fine: this fish is exported from Itelantl to Spain. Portugal, Italy. the West Indies, North America, and Fiance, Londonderry, Colerain, Dub lin, Waterford, Limerick, and Drogheda, are most noted for producing fine salmon ; but the 1 0,th of Ireland abounds more in this fish, and the }Ishii ics there are more valuable than in any other part of tie kingdom. The sal mon fianer) on the B inn, near Colerain, is particularly ce lebrated. In the year 1760, no less than 320 tons were tat ken in this fishery ; and in a single draught, there were onae 840 fish caught. The mouth of the Bann faces the notch ; and hence is well situated for receiving the fish that roam aluag the coast in search of fresh water, In this ri ver they fist' with nets 18 score yards long, and are conti nually drawing, night and day, during the whole season; two sets of 16 men each alternately relieving each other, The best fishing is when the tide is coming in. Tne fa mous salmon leap, or fishery on the Bann, lets for L1000 a-year. The main stream is always left open for the tree passage of the fish up the river ; but on the 12th of Au gust the fishery ceases here, (as it. does all over Ireland,) and all the other weirs are opened. At this leap, the sal mon are caught in a trap of basket-work, The fishery for salmon at Ballyshannon, on the liver Erne, is, perhaps, the most productive, after the fisheries on the Bann : the rent is about 1,1100. There is also a productive eel fishery here.
In the south of Ireland, particularly on the Blackwater, the mode of fishing is different from that followed in the north ; and is thus described in the statistical survey of Kilkenny : The country people catch salmon with a snap-net suspended between two cots, which are small boats, flat-bottomed, narrow, equal at both ends, and go verned by paddles. Two men ate in each boat, one of whom conducts it ; and when the fishers find the net drawn, the boats are closed immediately." At almost all the pla ces where salmon are taken, the fish is smoked by means of turf fires, which communicate a pleasant flavour to it, and render the Irish salmon a valuable commodity in ma ny foreign markets. The Carlingford oysters have alrea dy been noticed ; the demand for these oysters is so great in Ireland, that none are left for exportation.
The commerce of Ireland was most unjustly shackled till the year 1780 ; and even then was not placed on a fair and equitable footing. The union, however, has given to this branch of the empire, with respect to commei cial pri vileges, what they ought always to have had. Ireland im ports from Great Britain, iron, hops, shot, pepper, tea, pearl-ashes, seeds, tobacco, spices, indigo, drugs, colours, alum, coals, cotton wool, logwood, silk, calicoes, earthen ware, hardware, beer, sugar, coffee ; cabinet and uphol goods, hats, Re.: and exports to Great Britain, corn,
hides, horse hair, provisions, butter, whisky, cattle, flax seed, yarn, tallow, &c. The trade between France and and Ireland is considerable ; from France she imports wines particularly, and exports to France, provisions, li nen, ke. Portugal sends her wines, particularly flick port, and her fruits, &c. and receives provisions, butter, Re. The trade with Spain consists nearly of the same. ar ticles. The commerce between Ireland and the north of Europe is principally carried on through England. With North America and the West Indies, the trade is very ex tensive. To the former, Ireland sends her linens princi pally, and occasionally butter; and receives from it flax seed, &c. To the West Indies, Ireland scuds pro visions, Re. and receives su6ars, Re.
In further illustration of the commerce of Ireland, we shall subjoin the two following sets of Tables. The first set exhibiting the export, in different years. of the princi pal produce and manufactures of this country ; and the se cond the imports and exports generally.
I. Linen Cloth.—The annually average quantity of linen cloth exported from Ireland, horn 1700 to 1750, was not 4.000,000 yards; from 1750 to 1756 11 796,361 yards annu ally ; from 1757 to 1763, 14.511,973 , from 1764 to 1770, 17.776,362; from 1770 to 1777 20,252,239 ; from the year 1756 to 1773, England was the market for nearly 9-10ths of the whole Irish exportation.
The plain linen exported to Great Britain generally amounts, in official value, to upwards of two millions. For merly the United States took off the next largest quantity —in the year 1811, to the value of upwards of L180,000, but none in 1814 or 1815. The export to the West Indies appears to be increasing ; being, in 1804, rather more than L30,000, and in 1815, upwards of L 100,000. Spain, since the commencement of her revolution, has taken, in 1809, upwards of L120,000 ; and in 1815, upwards of L90,000. The exportation of coloured linen, as appears from the Table, is decreasing. In 1804 it amounted to upwards of LiO,C00.
The following Table gives the same result as the pre ceding, only continued to 1816, and with the addition of the official value of cotton and linen mixed.
To foreign parts butter exported, in 1814 109.682 ; in 1815, 80,479 ; in 1816, 90815 ; in 1817, 87,154—most of which was exported to Portugal. generally between 40 000 and 50,000 cwts, The West Inches took off the next larg est quantity ; then Spain, Newfoundland, and the Straights. The exports to the United States has increased, during the above period, from 61, to:1154 cwt'.