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"Commerce. Both our exports and imports have greatly increased. We export here goods from Paisley, Manchester, &c.; and we import confiderable quantities of the Irish linen manufacture. The inhabitants of Port-patrick, however, are generally only the carriers; the dealers are those, who, not being fufficiently opulent to freight and load large fhips, carry on a hawking bufinefs by land. They bring their goods in carts, and hire the Port-patrick veffels to convey them from one fhore to the other.

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frifh Cattle. But of all the articles of the commerce of Port-patrick, the import of black cattle and horses from Ireland is by far the most interesting. Formerly fuch a commerce was prohibited, for the purpofe of encouraging our own breed. The free importation was first permitted by 5th George III. cap. 10. 1. for feven years, and from thence to the end of the next feffion of Parliament. It was afterwards continued by several temporary acts, and at last made perpetual, by 16th George III. cap. 8. From the first removal of the prohibition, there was a small annual importation; but it was never carried on to any great extent till 1784, when it rofe fuddenly, without any cause that has yet been affigned for it. In that year there were imported, between the 5th of January 1784, and the 5th of January 1785, no lefs. than 18,301 black cattle, and 1233 horfes. The importation of cattle and horfes, for the laft five years, ending the 10th of October 1790, has varied in the following manner :

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Which at an average is about 11,000 head of cattle and 2000 horfes per annum. Great as this importation has been, it has not as yet materially hurt the fale, or diminished the price of cattle in the neighbourhood of Port-patrick. On VOL. I.

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the contrary, the demand for them has been rather on the increase. It is probable, however, that it would have been greater, had there been no import.

"Befides the cattle imported here, there are alfo confiderable numbers fent from Belfaft, Bangor, Newry, &c. directly to England. The English coal veffels always' take black cattle from Ireland, when they have it in their power: but it is believed that the largest import is at Port-patrick. The extent of sea by any other paffage, especially in the winter feafon, is much against the fale and fuccefsful tranfportation of a cargo, fo perifhable in itself, and liable to fo many accidents.

"This trade depends fo much upon the quantity of grafs, of hay, and of turnips in England, and fometimes even upon the profpect of large crops of thefe articles, that there is much fpeculation in it. Great gains and great loffes are therefore fudden and frequent. Hence the import is unequal. Some people fuppofe that the trade is favourable to fmuggling, and hoftile to the revenue. Others object to it, as in a peculiar manner detrimental to thofe diftricts in Scotland where black cattle are bred; and there seems to be rather a hardship in permitting fuch numbers of cattle to be imported into North Britain, or even carried through it, in order to rival the productions of that very country, in the only market to which it has accefs. Without entering, however, into thefe fpeculations, it may be fufficient at prefent to remark, that the import will probably diminish of itfelf, in confequence of the rapid progrefs which Ireland is now making. The time is faft approaching, when that kingdom will be in the fame fate in which England is at prefent, having a market within itself fufficient for the confumption of its own productions. Perhaps that may foon be the cafe in regard to other commodities, befides cattle. The Irish are rapidly improving in our manufactures, and we in theirs; at leaft the cottons of Manchester and Glafgow are likely foon to fupply the place of the linens of Ireland; fo that in time there will remain few articles to barter between the two kingdoms.

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Population. The return to the inquiries made by Dr Webfter, regarding the population of the parish of Port-patrick, about forty years ago, was 551 fouls.

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confiderably increafed. It appears from an enumeration recently made, that there are in the country part of the parish, 484, and in the town, 512 fouls; fo that the whole population amounts to 996, being an addition, in that space of time, of 445 fouls.

The births, deaths, and marriages, as entered in the pa rish register, for the laft eight years, are as follows:

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"Rent of the parish.-About the year 1761, the whole parish was valued, for the purpose of afcertaining the amount of the teind, or the value of the tythes, and it was then ef timated at 472 1. Sterling. But as the increase has fince been very confiderable, the land rent alone is now about 1000 l. per annum; the town rent is at least 200 1. more;. the dues of anchorage, and a duty of 2d. per head on all cattle and horfes, exported or imported, payable to the Blair family, may alfo bring in about 1201.; fo that the rent of the parish is rather better than 13001. a-year.

*** A fuller extract will be given from this valuable performance in our next.

Haftings' Turnip.
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MR. Hastings, when he was in the Eaft Indies, was attentive to every rural object that promifed to prove ufeful to the country. Among other products of the Eaft, that he imported hither, were the feeds of a kind of turnip from Bentar, which has not yet been long enough cultivated to afcertain its qualities. The following letter from Sir Jofeph

Banks, Bart. to Mr Arthur Young, contains fome hints. relative to it.

"I have an experiment with the turnips which Mr Haftings brought home from Bentar, that I hope may prove very interefting. I fowed fome feed in March last without producing one turnip. My gardener faid, the feed had degenerated, and could never bring turnips again. I dif fered in opinion from him, and told him I thought it would prove a valuable autumnal turnip; for, as the increafing heat had forwarded its growth fo rapidly as to change a biennial plant into an annual one, I concluded that in the decreafing heat of autumn it would increase in its biennial form with more than ufual rapidity; I accordingly ordered him to fow fome in Auguft, as foon as the wheat and oats were well off the ground. He fowed accordingly on the 26th of Auguft; and, on the 30th of November took up his turnips, as his ufual mode, to bury them in holes, that they be preferved from froit: twenty turnips then taken indifferently from the heap, weighed eight pounds; twenty other turnips he had fown about the fame time, had fcarce bottled at all. What fay you to the hopes of a valuable stubble crop from this?

Soho Square Dec. 16. 1790.

HISTORICAL CHRONICLE.

INTRODUCTION.

A Curfory VIEW of the prefent POLITICAL STATE of EUROPE, continued from page 120.

Great Britain.

NOTHING can exhibit a more striking proof of the justice of this maxim, that extent of empire does not always augment the profperity of a nation, than the prefent ftate of Great Britain. A few years ago, the loft feveral extenfive provinces that were generally deemed of fo much confequence to her, that few people imagined fhe could well fubfift without them. Yet it is now univerfally admitted, that, fince.

that period, her trade has augmented, her manufactures. have become more flourishing, and her internal profperity is greater than was ever known at any former period. It is not to be expected, however, that this strong example should either check her own defire of acquiring farther dominion, or teach other nations to judge rightly in this refpect. All mankind are accustomed to act from the influence of habit, rather than from reafoning; and they will continue to do fo.

Since the peace of 1782, Britain had no juft caufe for being alarmed for her own fafety, or for dreading the effects of foreign powers: the might therefore have been permitted to attend quietly to her own domeftic concerns. But tranquillity is not fo fuitable to the wishes of the people, as fome. buftle; and,moft minifters will think it their intereft to indulge the people in this their favourite paftime. Till a man, therefore, can be found, acting as prime minister, who shall prefer the fubftantial interefts of the country to his own private gratification and that of his friends, a long tract of continued tranquillity cannot be expected: and he who looks for fuch a man, muft fearch a long while in vain. Twice, fince that period, has Britain been alarmed with imaginary fears, and forced to equip powerful armaments at a very great national expence, which have been again laid down as ufelefs.

"The king of France, with twenty thousand men, "Went up the hill, and then-came down again." Thefe facetious lines may with justice be applied to our late armaments, which would not have been here taken notice of, did it not feem that this mode of obtaining mock victories, at an immenfe expence, appears to be a ført of fyftematic arrangement, to which recourfe is meant to be had whenever it is intended to put the good people of Britain into good humour, when any favourite point is to be aimed at. It would be well if a lefs expenfive kind of pastime could be contrived; or one that would tend lefs to injure trade, to derange the national economy, or to diftrefs individuals; for fuch a fudden adoption of measures, in themselves fo arbitrary, ought furely never to be reforted to, but in cafes of the most urgent necefsity.

Thefe troubles are for the prefent overblown; and though Spain had reafon to complain, that by the overbearing im

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