manufactured in Conamara, and is brought to the town by sea. For some years past about 4000 tons were annually exported, a considerable portion to the northern parts of Ireland, where it was much used in the manufacture of linen, and the remainder to England and Scotland. The price and consumption of this article, however, have of late very much diminished. Although, in 1808, it sold in Galway for 137. a ton, at present it seldom exceeds 41. ;° and the yearly exportation is also reduced to about 2500 tons, which is supposed to be occasioned by its inferiority to the Scottish kelp in foreign markets. Of late years, several cargoes of fine marble have been exported from the extensive quarries near the town; but this branch of trade seems also on the decline." The principal imports are American from fifteen to twenty trips yearly from the place where the kelp was burned to the quay. He also stated that kelp was then worth from 255. to 35s. per ton; but that about fifty years before it was worth only from 14s. to 21s. per ton.-Com. Jour.-In 1776, about 3000 tons were annually exported.-Young's Tour.-After this period it was found that several gross frauds were practised in making this article by mixing it with sand, stones and other grit matter, to the manifest injury, as was complained, of the linen trade of the kingdom. Inspectors were accordingly appointed; but even this precaution was found insufficient to prevent its adulteration, in consequence of which the Conamara kelp has of late years fallen into disrepute. This depression of price, with many other reasons equally forcible, has induced many to conclude that it would be much more beneficial for the land-owners and inhabitants of Conamara in general to encourage the agriculture of this widely extended district, in preference to the manufacture of the above fluctuating, and now unproductive, article. Several ingenious calculations have been entered into on the subject. To make the 4000 tons of kelp annually produced in Conamara, it has been supposed that 50,000 tons of sea-weed are probably consumed, which might suffice (being found to form an excellent compost for producing potatoes, oats, barley and flax,) for manuring 4000 acres of land. These lands, which now produce little or nothing, would, during a course of cropping, yield to the landlord from 21. to 37. and to the tenant from 12. to 201. per annum, and would afterwards let in permanent pasture at from 5s. to 10s, an acre at least. The continuance of this system, even for a few years, would entirely alter the face of the country, and ameliorate the present miserable condition of the inhabitants; the barren mountains would become fertile, and the neglected population would be no longer depending for existence on the fluctuating produce of their kelp, or their ill-managed and precarious crops, on the failure of which their wretchedness is inconceivable. Now according to Mr. Nimmo's report, the expense of cutting the weed and burning the kelp (although generally done by the tenants and cottagers on the spot, who begin cutting in May, and employ on it all the time that can be spared from the turf and potatoes until Michaelmas) reckoned from 50s. to 27. per ton; (though in truth, he says, it cannot be well ascertained, being combined with the rents of the lands,) besides 58. a ton for freight to Galway from the bays. "An able kelper may make 3 tons; the average is two or three men in one house, who may make from 7 to 8 tons in a season. The number employed would, therefore, appear to be two thousand. About twenty days work are required to cut and land the weed for one ton; the quantity of weed which makes one ton and a half is amply sufficient to manure an acre, which would be done at the rate of 45s. Seeing that the expense of carrying out the weed to the field is as great as that of drying and burning the kelp, so that many of the farmers find it more for their interest to employ the weed in agriculture; this disposition is likely to become general in the present state of the markets, and seems deserving of encouragement. The benefit that would accrue to Conamara, from the transfer of manure and labor to the improvement of the land, is perhaps not rated too high when we say it would annually produce as much as the present rental."-The author trusts he may be excused for thus extending these notes; the important facts and conclusions which they contain is the only justification he can offer, accompanied, at the same time, with a hope that some good may possibly result from rendering those facts more generally known. There are some extensive marble quarries near Galway, out of which many of the ancient and modern edifices of the town were entirely built. The principal are those of Anglingham, near Menlo, and of Merlinpark. The marble of both these extensive quarries is of a beautiful jet black colour, and is susceptible of the highest polish; it is fine-grained, soft and easily wrought, and is much prised by artists. It occurs in considerable, masses, with a straight fracture, on thin strata of plastic' clay, or argillaceous paste; and solid blocks, often weighing upwards of four tons, and measuring from 18 to 20 feet long, and from 8 to 10 feet broad, are frequently raised, particularly at Anglingham. Mr. Stanley Ireland some years since shipped several cargoes to London, Liverpool, Bristol, Cork, Dublin, &c.: he also established a marble-yard in the town, and employed several workinen, who wrought a variety of elegant monuments, plain and sculptured chimney-pieces, tablets, slabs, side-board tables, &c.; but at present this trade is rather declining. The Merlin-park quarry was opened in 1814, and Mr. Blake, the proprietor, exported a few cargoes; but the industry, perseverance and resolution to encounter not only preliminary expense, but even temporary losses, to bring works of this kind to perfection, do not seem to have attended these undertakings. There is, however, little doubt, but that, if these quarries were worked with flaxseed and timber, Swedish and Norway plank and deals, Petersburgh hemp and tallow, Swedish and English iron, steel, coals, &c. Messrs. John and James Burke, John Moore, Messrs. Denis and Hugh Clarke, Messrs. Martin and FitzGerald, James Costello, and Anthony Lynch, are at present the only merchants who carry on whatever little trade frequents this port. Although the quays and harbour are neglected, a convenient custom-house was built in 1807; it is a plain building, not very extensive, but at the same time fully sufficient for all the business transacted in it. The overplus duties, after defraying the expenses of the port establishment, add but very little to the national revenue, notwithstanding the praiseworthy exertions of the Hon. William le Poer Trench, brother of the Earl of Clancarty, and late collector of Galway, to promote the commercial interest of the town. 3. Corn Trade, Mills, Linen Manufacture, Breweries, &c. What remains to be mentioned concerning the trades and manufactories carried on here will occupy but very little space: of these the flour business is the principal. The warm limestone soil of the country about Galway produces wheat of the finest quality, which meets a ready sale in the market, and this trade has consequently increased very considerably within the last few years. In 1790 there were but two flour-mills in the town, but at present there are twenty-three, which are kept continually at work, each possessing, even in the driest season, a constant supply of water from Lough Corrib. The fall and rapidity of the river render it in this respect peculiarly advantageous; and the facility of internal conveyance by the lake to so many points of the country might, with very little exertion, be made incalculably beneficial to the town. The quantity of wheat ground and dressed is very considerable, it is calculated to amount annually to upwards of 12,000 tons, part of which supplies the adjacent counties, and the remainder is generally sent by the canal boats to Dublin. Besides these, there are six oat-mills, two malt-mills, and three fulling-mills, which are constantly employed. There are also a bleach-mill and green on the Nuns Island, but the linen manufacture does not appear to have been a favorite branch of industry; and spirit and judgment, they would in a short time become a source of considerable emolument, and fully reward that attention which they so much deserve. At present a few poor artists, who reside in the suburbs, scarcely support themselves by occasionally preparing tomb-stones, chimney-pieces, hearth-stones, &c. Amongst these there are several very superior mills: two erected at the Nuns Island by Mr. Francis Fitz-Gerald and Mr. Michael Regan deserve particular notice. Their storage, kilns and general machinery are superior to any other of the kind in the province. Mr. Regan's mill was commenced on 4th May, 1813; it is a large double building 80 feet long, and 41 broad in the clear, erected on five arches over one of the branches of the river, and on a fall of 10 feet 10 inches. It receives light through 100 glass windows. The machinery is entirely of metal, and the whole was prepared according to the plan and under the inspection of Mr. John Mackie, an ingenious Scotch engineer and mill-wright. There are four pair of grinding-stones, which may be put in motion. by one water-wheel, either separately or altogether. Two pair grind 30 cwt. and one pair 20 cwt. of grain in an hour. The entire building it is said cost upwards of 10,000l. therefore a linen hall, formerly erected in the west suburbs, has long since gone to decay. There is, in the same quarter, an extensive paper-mill, erected about 1785, and now conducted by Mr. Reuben Hughes: here different sorts of paper are manufactured, with which the Dublin markets are sometimes supplied. A public brewery, on an extensive scale, has been for some years past established at Newcastle, near the town, the property of Mr. Persse, of Roxboro', and another at Madeira Island, beyond the west bridge. The porter made here, but particularly in the former, has been much esteemed, and had for some time a good deal superseded the use of ardent spirits among the lower orders. This, however, interfered but little with Mr. Joyce's extensive distillery at Newtown Smith, in which superior spirits have, for many years past, been distilled under the superintendence of Mr. Finn.-The excise establishment of Galway, it is supposed, produces proportionably more to the public revenue than the duties of the port. 4. Chamber of Commerce. Several of our most respectable merchants and traders have lately associated themselves as a Chamber of Commerce to promote the interests of trade. It is surely unnecessary to say, that as the objects of this laudable association are of the most vital importance to the town, it becomes the duty, nay more, the interest, of every individual to forward those objects. Without a spirit of industry, says an accurate observer, no trade can flourish; and without a persevering attention to the interests of commerce, even the advantages of situation will have no effect. That the prosperity of the town would lead to that of the country requires very little proof; it is, in fact, a self-evident proposition: for is it not clear that the produce of land would always find a ready export market; and, as it could never fail of a permanent consumption, would not the value of estates be consequently increased? It appears, therefore, to be the interest of the country gentlemen and farmers to forward the objects of this institution: to their united exertions the author wishes every success, convinced as he is, that the extension of commerce is the only certain means of rendering this country rich, flourishing and happy. In 1760 the first cargo of flaxseed (consisting of 300 hogsheads,) was imported into Galway by Andrew Firench. Of these but 100 could be sold, and there were little more than 20 looms at the time employed in the town; the cultivation of flax however was gradually encouraged, insomuch that, in 1776, the annual importation had risen from 1500 to 2300 hogsheads, and the number of looms increased to 130.-Young's Tour.-At present there is but one bleach-green, situate on Earl's Island, near the town, which is carefully conducted by Mr. Mitchell. • Wool, the natural staple of this province, is sent in vast quantities in its raw state to the other parts of Ireland, but mostly to Great Britain. Now should Galway come a wool port, or that the commodity could be exported from the town in a manufactured state, would not this single circumstance have the most beneficial effect on the surrounding country? For example, can any one doubt but that an industrious people, gradually increasing in wealth and numbers, would, in process of time, cover the hitherto unproductive district of Conamara, of the existence of which it has been pointedly said, that its woollen stockings alone afforded the only proof to many people in Ireland? IV. FISHERIES OF THE RIVER AND BAY. 1. Salmon Fishery. Amongst the many natural advantages of which Galway and the surrounding district can boast, the fishings of the bay and river are not the least considerable. The salmon fishery is one of the most valuable in the kingdom,' and from a very early period has been a source of emolument. In 1754 the weirs were leased for 20 years, at 130l. a year. In 1776 and 1790 they brought 2001. yearly, but at the latter period they were worth considerably more: since 1800 they frequently produced upwards of 500l. a year, having increased in value in conse The salmon fishery of Galway originally passed to the earl of Ulster, under the grant of Henry III. and from him descended, with the other possessions of the De Burgoes, to Philippa, the sole heiress and representative of that powerful family, who, in 1368, intermarried with Edmund, earl of March and Ulster, upon whose death, in 1381, it was seized into the king's hands during the minority of their son and heir.-By letters patent of Robert de Vere, earl of Oxford and marquis of Dublin, (to whom the sovereignty of Ireland was committed by Richard II.) dated at Dublin the 16th of January, 1386, the salmon fishery of the town and water of Galvy, in Conact, was granted to Richard Parrys, burgess of Bristowe, for two years, at 20 marks yearly; and Richard de Burgo, and Henry Blake, of Galvy, burgess, were commanded not to interfere in any manner from thenceforth with the said fishery.-Rot. Pat. 10 Rich. II.—After this appears that Walter de Bermyngham, lord of Athenry, acquired some interest in this fishery, for in 1389 he made complaint to the lord justice and council" that certain Irishry of the lower parts of Connaught had fished the water of the said Walter in these parts, where they were accustomed to take salmon against his will, and sell the same to the people and merchants of Galvy, to his great loss."-The sheriff of Connaught, and the bailiffs, provost and commonalty of the town were accordingly commanded, under a penalty, not to buy any of said salmon for the future, but to cause proclamation to be publicly made, that none should thenceforth be bought from those Irishry, and to ascertain who should be found to trangress in that respect, and them to imprison until due amends should be made to said Walter in the premises.-Rot. Pat. 13 Rich. II. it During the succeeding century_the property of the river was sometimes in the De Burgoes, and at other times it appears vested in the crown. In 1520, William de Burgh granted the fishery to the Franciscan friars.King 312.-On 15th Nov. 1521, Henry VIII. granted licence to Jenet Lynch, widow, and Anthony Lynch, merchant, to have three nets upon the river of Galway, between the bridge and the sea, one near the great rock, (this rock was afterwards called Carrig-a-phreaghane or the Crow's-rock, and was covered over when the pier-head was built,) another near Panrise, and the third near Porter's-place, to take salmon and other fish as was customary, and to build one water-mill upon the said water wherever they should think proper; and also to build a public oven in the said town, to bake bread as well for strangers as for the inhabitants, to hold during the king's pleasure, at the yearly rent of 10s.-Fiant 25 Hen. VIII.-They afterwards petitioned the king, stating that they had, at great labour and expense, made up the said three nets, and erected the water-mill and public oven; whereupon by a further grant, in the 24th year of his reign, the entire was granted to them and their heirs, by the service of 138. 4d. yearly. Henceforth the Lynch family gradually acquired the principal part of the fishings of the river which continued in their possession for a considerable period.-Others of the inhabitants however sometimes obtained similar grants. On 2d Oct. 1552, licence was granted to Richard Martin to have three places upon the river, between the bridge and the sea, for three nets to take salmon and other fish, at 6s. 8d. yearly.-Thomas Martin had a similar licence to have five places for six nets. In 1536, Marcus Lynch Fitz-Stephen had a similar licence; and on the 26th Sept. 1538, Roger Challoner, one of the ushers of the king's chamber, had a grant of the water-mill, called Martyn's mill, and the fishings of the river (except the three places demised to Thomas Martyn) escheated to the crown, for forty years, at 20s. yearly.-Rot. Pat. 30 Hen. VIII. The resident families of Lynch and D'Arcy afterwards became possessed of the fishery, which they enjoyed until 1652. By an adjudication of Cromwell's commissioners, dated 19th Nov. 1656, it was found that the former family had been so seized, but that for this and other properties lost by them in Galway, they obtained a compensation in the county of Clare.-On 28th April, 1657, the salmon and all other fishings of the river, were let to Paule Dodd for one year for the interest of the state, except two parts out of three, formerly belonging to alderman James Darcy, which Dodd claimed in fee simple.-On_27th July, 1663, Sir George Preston, amongst other things, obtained a grant of all the salmon fishery, pike, eel, and other fishings of and in the river of Galway. This grant was afterwards confirmed by patent, dated 25th April, 1669, and was further recognised and secured by the act of settlement. This patentee had two daughters, one of whom married Mr. John Eyre, of Eyrecourt, who, in her right, became entitled to the fishery; and in 1710 their son disposed of his interest to Mr. Edward Eyre, of Galway, in whose family it has ever since continued. quence of some recent legal decisions in favor of the proprietors." The quantity of salmon taken yearly is very considerable, and it is esteemed of the best quality. Very little is exported, almost the entire being consumed in the town and the adjacent counties. The fish is sometimes taken by nets out of the weirs, and, in great quantities, preserved alive in a house set apart for that purpose, by which means it can be always had fresh, and of any size. The average price for some years past is about a shilling a pound, but it fluctuates according to the scarcity or abundance of salt water fish taken in the bay. On the whole, this salmon fishery, if sufficient capital were expended on it, and that a proper system was once introduced, would prove a source of never-failing emolument to the proprietors, and of considerable benefit and convenience to the town. 2. Fishings of the Bay. Valuable as is the fishery of the river of Galway, that of the bay is considerably more so. No part of the Irish coast abounds with a greater variety of all sorts of fish, and yet very few fisheries have been so imperfectly cultivated. The fishermen here, particularly those of the Claddagh village,' are very numerous, upwards of It was for a long time a matter of dispute whether those deriving under the patent possessed an exclusive right, or, in law phrase, whether the river was a several fishery, in which only the owner had a right to fish, or a common fishery, in which the public indiscriminately might exercise such a right. The former title was never acknowledged, and the question having at length become a subject of legal investigation, a several fishery was effectually established. There was also, from time immemorial, a gap in the river called the main gap, through which small boats sometimes, though with difficulty, passed up and down from the lake to the sea: this particular gap was always kept open from February to August, (being the fishing half year,) when all the others were shut: the proprietors, finding that this diminished the value of the weirs, caused it to be closed: this also became a subject of legal contention, but it was finally determined that the gap should be, and it has ever since accordingly been kept open. *In 1762 it appeared in evidence before the Irish house of commons, that "the fishery in the harbour and bay of Galway is remarkably good, that there is the best herring and cod fishery there in the kingdom, and a cod-bank near Bophin, about a night's draft from the shore. The bay of Galway on the outside of the Arran Isles is remarkable for sun-fish, which are there in plenty, and of such value, that if a boat be out for two months, and takes one sun-fish, the owners think themselves repaid. The fishermen of Galway supply the city of Limerick with sea-fish and a great part of the inland county. In the fishing season about 200 boats are employed in the bay and harbour, of which about 160 belong to the town, and the rest to the county of Clare side of the harbour."-Com. Jour. Vol. VII. A. D. 1762. According to Doctor Young, (whose information is generally correct.) there were in 1776 from “ 200 to 250 boats belonging to the town, 40 or 50 of which were employed in the spring fishery for cod, hake, mackrel, &c. These boats are from 4 to 6 tons, some 9; they cost in building 207. a boat and the nets and tackle about 15l. The nets are of hemp tanned with bark; there are 5 to 6 men to a boat; they fish by shares dividing into sixty; they have had this fishing time immemorial. The plenty of fish decreased these 15 years. A middling night's take is 5000 fish; all they get is sold unto the country, and the demand is so far from being answered, that many cargoes are brought in from the north. The fish sell at is. 4d. to 2s. 2d. a hundred."-The Doctor further adds-"On the coast of Conomarra there is, from the 10th of April to the 10th of May, a fishery of sun-fish which is done by the herring boats; one fish is reckoned worth 51. 40 or 50 boats employed on this."-Young's Tour. CLADDAGH FISHING VILLAGE. The following short statistical account of this singular colony (which, though situate within a quarter of a mile of Galway, is as different in habits, manners and character, from the natives of the town as if they were of another country,) may not, it is hoped, be thought altogether uninteresting. Situation and Extent. The Claddagh (an Irish word, which signifies the sea shore,) is a village situate on the estate of Mr. Whaley, near the strand, about a quarter of a mile to the west of Galway. It is irregularly built, but very extensive, and intersected into several streets. The number of houses or cabins, which are all thatched, was returned, in 1812, at 468, inhabited by 500 families, consisting of 1050 males and 1286 females, but the population is now (1820) considerably greater, being supposed to exceed 3000 souls. It is a very ancient village, and, according to tradition, |