The town of Belfast was by these
means gradually placed in immediate connection by sea with the
principal western ports of England and Scotland,--steamships of
large burden now leaving it daily for Liverpool, Glasgow,
Fleetwood, Barrow, and Ardrossan. The ships entering the port of
Belfast in 1883 were 7508, of 1,526,535 tonnage; they had been
more than doubled in fifteen years. The town has risen from
nothing, to exhibit a Customs revenue, in 1883, of 608,781L.,
infinitely greater than that of Leith, the port of Edinburgh, or
of Hull, the chief port of Yorkshire. The population has also
largely increased. When I visited Belfast in 1840, the town
contained 75,000 inhabitants. They are now over 225,006, or more
than trebled,--Belfast being the tenth town, in point of
population, in the United Kingdom.
The spirit and enterprise of the people are illustrated by the
variety of their occupations. They do not confine themselves to
one branch of business; but their energies overflow into nearly
every department of industry. Their linen manufacture is of
world-wide fame; but much less known are their more recent
enterprises. The production of aerated waters, for instance, is
something extraordinary. In 1882 the manufacturers shipped off
53,163 packages, and 24,263 cwts. of aerated waters to England,
Scotland, Australia, New Zealand, and other countries.
Pages:
336
337
338
339
340
341
342
343
344
345
346
347
348
349
350
351
352
353
354
355
356
357
358
359
360