"Look," he said, "on these fellows, that we call the plump Hollanders; behold their diligence in fishing, and our own careless negligence!" The Dutch not only fished along the coasts near Yarmouth, but their fishing vessels went north as far as the coasts of Shetland. What most roused Mr. Gentleman's indignation was, that the Dutchmen caught the fish and sold them to the Yarmouth herring-mongers "for ready gold, so that it amounteth to a great sum of money, which money doth never come again into England." "We are daily scorned," he says, "by these Hollanders, for being so negligent of our Profit, and careless of our Fishing; and they do daily flout us that be the poor Fishermen of England, to our Faces at Sea, calling to us, and saying, 'Ya English, ya sall or oud scoue dragien;' which, in English, is this, 'You English, we will make you glad to wear our old Shoes!'"Another pamphlet, to a similar effect, 'The Royal Fishing revived,'[17] was published fifty years later, in which it was set forward that the Dutch "have not only gained to themselves almost the sole fishing in his Majesty's Seas; but principally upon this Account have very near beat us out of all our other most profitable Trades in all Parts of the World." It was even proposed to compel "all Sorts of begging Persons and all other poor People, all People condemned for less Crimes than Blood," as well as "all Persons in Prison for Debt," to take part in this fishing trade! But this was not the true way to force the traffic. The herring fishery at Yarmouth and along the coast began to make gradual progress with the growth of wealth and enterprise throughout the country; though it was not until 1787--less than a hundred years ago--that the Yarmouth men began the deep-sea herring fishery.
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. The land is the same, the climate is the same, and the laws are the same, as those which prevail in other parts of Ireland. Belfast is the great centre of Irish manufactures and commerce, and what she has been able to do might be done elsewhere, with the same amount of energy and enterprise. But it is not land, or climate, or altered laws that are wanted. It is men to lead and direct, and men to follow with anxious and persevering industry. It is always the Man society wants.
The influence of Belfast extends far out into the country. As you approach it from Sligo, you begin to see that you are nearing a place where industry has accumulated capital, and where it has been invested in cultivating and beautifying the land. After you pass Enniskillen, the fields become more highly cultivated. The drill-rows are more regular; the hedges are clipped; the weeds no longer hide the crops, as they sometimes do in the far west. The country is also adorned with copses, woods, and avenues. A new crop begins to appear in the fields--a crop almost peculiar to the neighbourhood of Belfast. It is a plant with a very slender erect green stem, which, when full grown, branches at the top into a loose corymb of blue flowers. This is the flax plant, the cultivation and preparation of which gives employment to a great number of persons, and is to a large extent the foundation of the prosperity of Belfast.
The first appearance of the linen industry of Ireland, as we approach Belfast from the west, is observed at Portadown. Its position on the Bann, with its water power, has enabled this town, as well as the other places on the river, to secure and maintain their due share in the linen manufacture. Factories with their long chimneys begin to appear. The fields are richly cultivated, and a general air of well-being pervades the district. Lurgan is reached, so celebrated for its diapers; and the fields there about are used as bleaching-greens. Then comes Lisburn, a populous and thriving town, the inhabitants of which are mostly engaged in their staple trade, the manufacture of damasks. This was really the first centre of the linen trade.
Though Lord Strafford, during his government of Ireland, encouraged the flax industry, by sending to Holland for flax-seed, and inviting Flemish and French artisans to settle in Ireland, it was not until the Huguenots, who had been banished from France by the persecutions of Louis XIV., settled in Ireland in such large numbers, that the manufacture became firmly established. The Crommelins, the Goyers, and the Dupres, were the real founders of this great branch of industry.[18]
