These returns afford a convincing proof, that the population of Ireland has increased, and that a salutary change is beginning to take place in the habits of the people; they furnish sufficient grounds, to warrant the most sanguine hope in regard to the future prosperity of the country, and cannot fail of being highly gratifying to those interested in its welfare. A greater consumption of those articles which contribute to the comforts of life, among the general mass of the people, will establish commercial towns in the interior for the exchange of indigenous productions, as well as of foreign commodities; a taste more congenial to civilization will be diffused, and new wants being thus created, an enlivening and efficient stimulus will be given to industry. Let those who are fond of viewing every thing in the most unfavourable light suspend their gloomy reflections; and instead of indulging in idle clamour and complaint, direct their thoughts to the best means of turning to advantage the natural resources of their country. Every thing considered, the inhabitants of Ireland have certainly great cause to rejoice; for I fully agree in opinion with a respectable writer, in thinking its present state" a phenomenon in statistics, unparalleled in the history of the most flourishing colonies, ancient or modern."* Mr. Newenham, who seems very little disposed to allow much credit to those who planned and brought about that more intimate connexion between Great Britain and Ireland, which has been so beneficial to the commerce of the latter, indulges in some reflections which tend to corroborate my opinion. Speaking of the Union, he says, "Even though the Union is as yet far from having produced the expected effect, with reference to the increase of wealth in Ireland, the number of Irish representatives, if proportioned to the actual comparative exports and imports of Britain and Ireland, would be much greater than allotted in 1800. The current value of the exports of the former, in the year ended 5th of last January, was £40,479,865., and that of those of the latter £10,110,385. This would give to Ireland 133 representatives, instead of 96. The official value of the goods imported into Britain in the year, ended 5th January, 1807, was £28,840,860. That of the foreign and colonial goods exported the following year, £9,395,283. ; so that the value of those retained for home consumption, was £19,445,577. The official value of the goods imported into Ireland in the former year, was £5,605,964., and that of the foreign goods exported in the latter, £150,370., leaving for home consumption to the amount of £5,455,594., which would give Ireland 149 representatives instead of 89. The average number of representatives adjusted to the actual exports and imports of Ireland, is 141. The average number adjusted to her exports and imports in the three years, ended in 1799, was 92 or 49 less." "It was positively affirmed, and, indeed, very generally expected, that in the event * Sir Francis D'Ivernois's Effects of the Continental Blockade. London, 1810, p. 70. of Ireland's enjoying for twenty years, that commercial reciprocity with Britain, which was secured by the Act of Union, the national wealth of the former would approach much nearer to that of the latter, than it then was; and, accordingly, the future United Parliament was, by that act, vested with a discretionary power to augment the public contributions of Ireland, in proportion to the value of her exports, imports, and consumption of excisable commodities, or in proportion to her income, as estimated by the produce of a general tax. Surely, that parliament ought, at the same time to have been vested with a similar power to augment the number of her representatives in proportion to the increase of her wealth; and, surely, if the circumstances of Ireland experience the improvement which was promised and looked to, the present number of her representatives evidently unsuitable to the real circumstances of the country at the time of the Union, can scarcely fail to be warrantably deemed inadequate, unfair, and a grievance.' * I shall here offer a few observations on the official rates of value as assigned by all ...custom-house entries, as they appear to be very little understood. Mr. Marshal, inspector-general of the Irish customs, stated to a committee of the House of Commons, that frequent alterations had taken place in their mode of estimate between 1697 and 1790, a fact which destroys the accuracy of any calculations that may be formed upon them, and cancels the volumes of figures which have been printed on the subject. If, for example, in the year 1700, a cwt. of flax was rated in the customhouse books at £1. and in 1800 at £5., those who trust to figures might be induced to imagine that an increase had taken place in the quantity, when in reality the increase is only in the price. But for a detail of these matters, I must refer to the table already printed, in which quantities as well as value are set forth. Although there can be no doubt but that the trade of Ireland has increased, I do not go to such a length as Sir Francis D'Ivernois, and ascribe it all to the Union. On the contrary, I am convinced that it has arisen greatly from the rapid progress which the people are making in civilization. Had no such event taken place, wheat would equally have been substituted for oats, and muslins and calico have supplanted linsey and rags. I admit the effect in the fullest extent, but differ from that respectable writer as to the cause; and although his predictions on the French finances have failed, his remarks respecting Ireland, which he has established on the most unquestionable basis, in opposition to Mr. Newenham, bear honourable testimony to his talents and industry. Before a country can be considered in a safe and prosperous state, it ought to produce necessaries adequate to the maintenance of its people. I could wish, therefore, even in years of the greatest scarcity, to see some exportation of corn from Ireland, as * Newenham's Natural and Political Circumstances of Ireland, p. 286. a proof that she is in a condition to feed her own inhabitants without foreign aid.* This is the utmost of my anxiety respecting exportation: were this proof once afforded, it would give me much greater satisfaction to find the superabundant quantity consumed "Though I have dwelt much on the importance of raising a quantity of corn in the country beyond the demands of the home consumption, yet I do not mean to recommend that general system of ploughing, which takes place in most parts of France, and defeats its own purpose. A large stock of cattle is not only necessary as a very valuable part of the food of the country, and-as contributing very greatly to the comforts of a considerable portion of its population; but it is also necessary in the production of corn itself. A large surplus produce, in proportion to the number of persons employed, can never be obtained without a great stock of cattle. At the same time, it does not follow, that we should throw all the land that is fit for it into pasture. It is an observation of Arthur Young, and I should think a just ope, that the first and most obvious improvement in agriculture, is to make the fallows of a country support the additional cattle and sheep wanted in it. (Travels in France, vol. i. p. 361.) I am by no means sanguine, however, as to the practicability of converting England again into an exporting country, while the demands for the products of pasture are daily increasing, from the increasing riches of the commercial part of the nation. But should this be really considered as impracticable, it seems to point out to us one of the great causes of the decay of nations. We have always heard, that states and empires have their periods of declension; and we learn from history, that the different nations of the earth have flourished in a kind of succession; and that poor countries have been continually rising on the ruins of their richer neighbours. Upon the commercial system, this kind of succession seems to be in the natural and necessary course of things, independently of the effects of war. If from the increasing riches of the commercial part of any nation, and the consequently increasing demands for the products of pasture, more lands were daily laid down to grass, and more corn imported from other countries, the unavoidable consequence seems to be, that the increasing prosperity of these countries, which their exportations of corn would contribute to accelerate, must ultimately destroy the population and power of the countries which fostered them. The ancients always attributed this natural weakness and old age of states to luxury. But the moderns, who have generally considered luxury as a principal encouragement to commerce and manufactures, and consequently a powerful instrument of prosperity, have, with great appearance of reason, been unwilling to consider it as a cause of decline. But allowing with the moderns, all the advantages of luxury, and when it falls short of actual vice, they are certainly great; there seems to be a point, beyond which it must necessarily become prejudicial to a state, and bring with it the seeds of weak, ⚫ness and decay. This point is, when it is pushed so far, as to trench on the funds necessary for its support, and to become an impediment instead of an encouragement to agriculture. I should be much misunderstood, if, from any thing that I have said in the four last chapters, I should be considered as not sufficiently aware of the advantages derived from commerce and manufactures. I look upon them as the most distinguishing characteristics of civilization, the most obvious and striking marks of the improvement of society, and calculated to enlarge our enjoyments, and add to the sum of human happiness. No great surplus produce of agriculture could exist without them, and if it did exist, it would be comparatively of very little value. But still they are rather the ornaments and embellishments of the political structure than its foundations. While these foundations are perfectly secure, we cannot be too solicitous to make all the apartments convenient and elegant; but if there be the slightest reason to fear that the foundations themselves may give way, it seems to be folly to continue directing our principal attention to the less essential parts. The most determined friend of commerce and manufactures must allow, that the persons employed in them cannot exist without food to support them; and I cannot persuade myself to believe that they can be sufficiently secure of this food, if they depend for it principally on other countries. There has never yet been an instance in history, of a large nation continuing, with undiminished vigour, to support four or five millions of its people on imported by manufacturers* employed in clothing the people, or supplying foreign markets with the produce of their industry; and I am happy to have the present opportunity of explaining my sentiments on this subject to the gentlemen of Ireland, many of whom I have heard strongly insisting on the necessity of great exports of corn; but I must observe, lest my meaning be misunderstood, that I entertain no idea that England ought to purchase in Poland rather than in Ireland. It is a homely, but significant proverb, that "charity begins at home." If England must buy corn, let her confer the benefit of supplying her wants to her friends, in preference to strangers; when she can find a market at the door, why should she go to a foreign one? The soil of Ireland is so fertile, and the climate so favourable, that under a proper system of agriculture, it will produce not only a sufficiency of corn for its own use, but a superabundance which may be ready at all times to relieve England when she may stand in need of assistance. The subject to be next examined is, the state of navigation and shipping in Ireland, corn; nor do I believe that there ever will be such an instance in future. England is, undoubtedly, from her insular situation, and commanding navy, the most likely to form an exception to this rule; but considering the subject as a general question in political economy, these advantages must evidently be looked upon as peculiar and incidental; and what might be applicable to England, would not be so to other countries. In spite, however, of the peculiar advantages of England, it appears to me clear, that if she continue yearly to increase her importations of corn, she cannot ultimately escape that decline which seems to be the natural and necessary consequence of excessive commercial wealth; and the growing prosperity of those countries which supply her with corn, must, in the end, diminish her population, her riches, and her power. I am not now speaking of the next twenty or thirty years, but of the next two or three hundred. And though we are little in the habit of looking so far forwards, yet it may be questioned, whether we have a right knowingly to adopt a system which must necessarily terminate in the weakness and decline of our posterity. But whether we make any practical application of such a discussion or not, it is curious to contemplate the causes of those reverses in the fates of empires, which so frequently changed the face of the world in past times, and may be expected to produce similar, though, perhaps, not such violent changes in future. War was, undoubtedly, in ancient times, the principal cause of these changes; but it frequently only finished a work which excess of luxury and the neglect of agriculture had begun. With regard to ourselves, we should recollect that it is only within the last twenty or thirty years, that we have become an importing nation. In so short a period, it could hardly be expected, that the evils of the system should be perceptible. We have, however, already felt some of its inconveniences; and if we persevere in it, its evil consequences may by no means be a matter of remote speculation. It has been before observed, that, if from the beginning every kind of trade had been left to find its own level, agriculture would probably never have wanted any particular support; but when once this general and desirable liberty has been infringed, it seems to be clearly our interest to attend principally to those parts of the political structure, which in the actual circumstances of the country appear to be comparatively the weakest; and, upon this principle, we should be justified in giving particular encouragement to manufactures in such countries as Poland, and the southern parts of Siberia, and the same kind of encouragement to agriculture, in England." Malthus' Principle of Population, p. 466–469. • Bishop Berkeley asks," whether it is possible the country should be well improved, while our beef is exported, and our labourers live on potatoes." Berkeley's Works, Dublin edit. 1784, vol. ii. p. 370. "Whether the quantities of butter, wool, and leather, exported from this island (Ireland), can be reckoned the superfluities of a country, where there are so many natives naked and famished." Ibid. AN ACCOUNT of the Number of VESSELS, with the Amount of TONNAGE, and the Number of Men and Boys employed in navigating the same (including their repeated Voyages), that entered Inwards and cleared Outwards in the several Ports of Ireland, from or to ALL Parts of the World;-since the Establishment of a Registry, to 5th January 1811;-distinguishing each Year; and the Irish, and British, and Foreign Vessels. OUTWARDS. - TOTAL Outwards. 1803 1804 1805 1807 1,418 101,219 7,349 5,095 482,262 28,392 62,963 3,705 6,872 646,444 |39,446| 1,211 90,254 6,324 5,160 509,387 29,368 93,995 5,728 6,924 693,636 41,420 1,080 82,934 5,832 5,013 507,177 28,337 531 78,971 5,093 6,624 669,082 39,262 1,172 90,173 6,077 5,442 535,761 30,648 521 77,783 4,910 7,135 703,717 41,635 1,353 522 97,162 6,754 | 5,888 | 574,688 | 32,441| 83,048 5,139 7,763 754,898 44,334 1808-1,320 97,856 6,797 6,294 615,702 34,631 418 72,662 4,130 8,032 786,220 45,558 1809 1,405 108,435 7,221 6,473 641,157 35,715 163 27,856 1,591 8,041 777,448 44,527 1810 1,527 109,144 7,398 5,877,538,699 30,477 333 56,267 3,225 7,737 704,110 41,100 [1811 - 1,841 125,389 8,650 6,931 627,012 35,595 639 117,414 6,312 9,411 869,815 50,557 359 Note.-A Registry was not established in Ireland for representing the distinction of Irish, British, and Foreign Vessels, nor the number of Men, until the year ending 5th January 1803; and there was not a Registry established for representing an Account of the Tonnage of Ships cleared outwards from Ireland, until the same year. Custom-House, Dublin, 16th April, 1811. SAMUEL WALKER, Comptroller of Tonnage and Light Money. |