Before then, the fishing was all carried on along shore in little
cobles, almost within sight of land. The native fishery also
extended northward, along the east coast of Scotland and the
Orkney and Shetland Isles, until now the herring fishery of
Scotland forms one of the greatest industries in the United
Kingdom, and gives employment, directly or indirectly, to close
upon half a million of people, or to one-seventh of the whole
population of Scotland.
Taking these facts into consideration, therefore, there is no
reason to despair of seeing, before many years have elapsed, a
large development of the fishing industry of Ireland. We may yet
see Galway the Yarmouth, Achill the Grimsby, and Killybegs the
Wick of the West. Modern society in Ireland, as everywhere else,
can only be transformed through the agency of labour, industry,
and commerce--inspired by the spirit of work, and maintained by
the accumulations of capital. The first end of all labour is
security,--security to person, possession, and property, so that
all may enjoy in peace the fruits of their industry. For no
liberty, no freedom, can really exist which does not include the
first liberty of all--the right of public and private safety.
To show what energy and industry can do in Ireland, it is only
necessary to point to Belfast, one of the most prosperous and
enterprising towns in the British Islands.
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