thard, and another at a place called Crossfarnogue in the bay of Ballyteigue; the latter, the situation of which is by far the best adapted for carrying on the Fishery, has been erected by the fishermen themselves, with the assistance of a small subscription from the gentlemen and principal farmers in the neighbourhood.

Inadequate as this little harbour is, it has enabled the fishermen to enlarge the size and extend the number of their boats, of which there are now about twenty, of from 12 to 15 tons burden, employed principally in catching lobsters, which the larger boats carry to the Dublin market. This fishery is carried on in summer, during which they take considerable quantities of cod and ling, mullet, gurnard, and other small fish. The winter fishing, which would afford them much employment, as well in pursuit of the cod as the herring fishery, they are unable to follow for want of a harbour sufficient to shelter their boats.

It is at this place where, we are clearly of opinion, that a harbour should be formed, not only for boats and small vessels, but for merchant's vessels of large burden. This bay of Ballyteigue, together with the bay of Feathard, is bounded on the west by a rocky promontory, called the Hook, and on the east by the two islands of the Saltees, and a reef of rocks which issues from the coast near Crossfarnogue, leaving a deep and narrow channel between this reef and the lesser island of the Saltees, which is not easily to be found by strange vessels, and which, if unfortunately embayed, by mistaking the navigation of the coast, are very liable to be brought up by the low lying rocks, and a winter seldom passes without some vessels being wrecked in this dangerous bay. We remember, about twenty years ago, a vessel, valued, with her cargo, at £120,000, being totally wrecked in this bay, and we have heard of a great number of others meeting with a similar fate. A harbour, formed at the situation we have pointed out, would prevent all disasters of a similar nature, as the approach to this harbour, from the entrance of the bay, is perfectly clear both of the rocks off the Hook, or of the dangerous and numerous rocks off the islands of the Saltees, and the situation of the proposed harbour is naturally defended from almost every wind; and, from the observations we made on the spot, it appeared to us, that a harbour can here be erected for West India and other merchant vessels, at a very moderate expence. There is off these islands of the Saltees, and off the promontory of the Hook, the greatest abundance of lobsters, which we were informed could be taken in any quantity, if the fishermen were accommodated with a safe harbour to run into in stormy weather, or in sudden gales. It was in this bay, about a mile from the islands of the Saltees, as men

tioned in the first part of this review, that the cod fish which were carried alive to the London market, were chiefly taken, and which fish the salesmen at Billingsgate said were equal, if not superior in quality to any which ever had been brought there. The lobsters caught at this place are carried chiefly to the Dublin market, where they are much esteemed on account of their being full fed, and of a remarkably delicate flavour.*

We could point out several other situations in these counties of Wicklow and Wexford, where we are of opinion fishing villages might be. successfully established, but, as before any thing could be undertaken either with the assistance of Government, or by assistance of public spirited individuals, a survey of the coast ought to be made by persons well skilled in navigation, as well as engineers who are accustomed to construct harbour-works, at the situations suggested as most advantageous for agriculture, for the encouragement of the Fisheries, and for manufactures. It will be unnecessary to enter at present into any minute description of any such places.

We shall conclude this part of the subject, by saying that we consider the Grey Stones in the county of Wicklow, and the mouth of Wexford haven, and Crossfarnogue in the same county, as situations the best adapted for Fishing establishments, and which, we flatter ourselves are likely to be approved of by persons of greater skill and experience than we can pretend to possess.

Sir Humphry Davy remarked in one of his lectures at the Royal Institution, that those trout are the best which frequent water flowing over calcareous soil. He accounted for this circumstance on philosophical principles, and the truth of his theory is fully confirmed by the superiority of the Irish trout, the beds of many of the rivers consisting entirely of limestone. Wakefield's Ireland, vol. ii, p. 83. May not the superior quality of the lobsters and the cod, taken off this coast be ascribed to the same circumstance, as the rocks of the Hook are entirely limestone, and also those of the islands of the Saltees? The lobsters taken amongst the limestone rocks in the southern coast of the Isle of Man are also admired for their excellent quality.

K.k

SECTION XVII.

Of Population-Opinions regarding it-Malthus's Doctrines-State of Population in Ireland Want of Cities and Great Towns.

IT has always been considered an object of great national importance, to ascertain, as nearly as possible, the population of a country, for unless the number of inhabitants be known, and compared with the extent of agriculture, as well as the number at former periods, it will be impossible to form a correct idea of its strength and resources, or to determine whether it be in a state of improvement or decline. Sir W. Davenant says, "that as the wealth of all nations arises from the labour and industry of the people, a right knowledge of the numbers is necessary to those who will judge of a country's power and strength, and this is so far from being a matter of mere speculation, as some think that many conclusions may be drawn from thence, useful and reduceable to practice."* A later writer observes also, "that if the various states of Europe kept and published annually an exact account of their population, noting carefully, in a second column, the exact ages at which the children die, this second column would shew the relative merit of the government, and the comparative happiness of their subjects. A simple arithmetical statement would then, perhaps, be more conclusive than all the arguments that could be adduced."+

The practice of numbering the people, appears to have been of great antiquity. We read in the scriptures, that David, desirous to estimate the strength of his kingdom, rather from the number of its inhabitants, than from the divine favour, caused an enumeration to be made of the people of Israel, who were found to amount to "800,000 valiant men that drew the sword, besides 500,000 men of Judah." This prince, however, was punished for his presumption and pride, by a famine, which, in the course of a little time, sweept away 70,000 per

sons.

After the return of the Jews from the Babylonish captity, the city

* Davenant's works, by Whitworth, Vol. i. p. 138.

+ Sir Francis D'Ivernois Survey of the losses of the French nation, 1799, p. 15. 11 Book of Samuel, chap. xxiv, v. 9.

of Jerusalem, being almost depopulated, Nehemiah numbered the people, and found that they amounted only to 50,000 men, women, and children. This shows that a dreadful decrease of population had taken place, either through the consequences of war, or by the effects of captivity, for the two tribes, of which this small number who returned was a remnant, had formerly mustered 180,000 armed men.*

The Romans were accustomed to have frequent returns of the number of the people, by means of a census, a regulation first introduced by Tullus Hostilius, who obliged the inhabitants of Rome to give in, upon oath, an exact statement of their property. He then divided them into six classes, and one hundred and thirty centuries, placing those who were most opulent in the first century, and the rest in gradation, according to their property and rank. This institution was afterwards made permanent, all the citizens in the different classes being bound to give in, not only their own names, but those of their wives, children, freed men, and slaves, together with their ages, the names of the places where they resided, and an estimate of their property.

The office of enumerating the people belonged at first to the Kings. After their expulsion, it devolved on the consuls; but as these magistrates, in consequence of being engaged in military expeditions, were not able to attend particularly to this part of their duty, officers were appointed, under the name of censors, to take these accounts. The census was, in general, taken every five years, and it seems to have been attended with two advantages. The number of men fit to bear arms was ascertained, and the government, at the same time, became acquainted with the state of private property, and the sum which could be raised to defray the expence of any protracted war.f

This method of numbering the people was at first confined to Rome and some parts of Italy, but was afterwards extended to the provinces. A census of the people was taken by Augustus throughout the whole of the Roman empire, in consequence of a plan which he had formed of abolishing the old taxes, and imposing, in their stead, a general poll-tax, and a tax upon land. This measure, however, occasioned an insurrection among the Jews, many of whom considered it criminal to acknowledge any other ruler than the Almighty, gave rise to the question proposed to our Saviour by the Pharasees, Whether it was lawful to pay tribute to Cæsar or not?'

and

* Nehemiah, chap. vii.

+ Sigonius de Antiquo Jure Civium Romanorum, Hanoviæ, 1611, fol. p. 50, 51. Onuphrii Hanuvini Fastorum Libri quinque, Venetiis, 1558, fol. p. 165. Lipsii Opera, 4 vols. 8vo, 1675, vol. iii, p. 1480.

St. Luke, chap. ii, v. 1.

Peter the Great, whose active and comprehensive mind was employed on every object which was likely in any way to aid his plans of national improvement, seems to have been aware of the great advantages which might arise from ascertaining the population in his empire. So early as the year 1722, he issued an order, published in an appendix to the New Church Regulations, that the clergy should, in future, take registers of all births and deaths, which were to be transmitted annually to the keeper of the public records, and that, every four months, they should deliver in similar lists to the bishops, for the purpose of being laid before the senate.

Professor Crome of Giessen, in a small work, published in 1793, has given a comparative statement of the extent and population of the different countries of Europe, accompanied with many curious remarks. In a short introduction, he says,

"Of all the causes and excitements by which the general civilization of nations is promoted and affected, the most important, undoubtedly, is an increasing population.* The energy and powers of man are roused into action by his wants, and are modified and determined in their application by situation, circumstances, climate, and soil. With the augmentation of the numbers that have to subsist on a given space, their demands will become greater and more various, and, consesequently, industry must be increased. Situation and circumstances have here no other effect, than as they facilitate the supply of the necessaries of life. A proof of this assertion may be found in the history of every country. As long as men remain at the lowest stage of civilization, or that of a savage life, subsisting merely by hunting and fishing, their wants are simple, and easily supplied, and their population is in the inverse ratio of the land which they occupy. Their ideas are few, their powers are little cultivated, their language is poor, and their enjoyments are as circumscribed as their taste. But if their numbers increase in a given space, the bow and arrow are no longer sufficient to provide subsistence; and if the propensity to social life be awakened, they gradually leave their solitary haunts in the forests, and learn to cultivate the soil, and to domesticate and facilitate the propagation of useful animals. With their herds, they roam over the fertile plains, and through the vallies, leading a romantic life, and scattered about in hordes of various numbers. The mutual intercourse of a people so divided, and having frequent intercourse, must naturally enlarge their ideas, their language, and their enjoyments, until the in

* It does not appear that this cause has been attended with a striking effect in Ireland. The population of that country has made a rapid increase, while civilization has not kept pace with it, but remains rather stationary.