Marriage

BOYD--GAMBLE -- Jan. 25, at St. Columba's (Church of Scotland), Pont Street, Belgravia, London, by the Rev. Archibald Fleming, D.D. -- John Boyd, Lieut. N.Z.M.C., eldest son of the late James R. Boyd, J.P., and Mrs. Boyd, Greenwood, Lisburn, to Jenny, eldest daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Thos. W. Gamble, Ballyjamesduff, County Cavan.

Death

HODSON -- Feb. 2, at Dublin (suddenly), William G. Hodson, M.A., T.C.D., eldest son of the late Rev. Canon Hodson, D.D., Rector of Lisburn.

Clippings

SOME EXTRACTS FROM THE

RECORDS OF OLD LISBURN

AND THE MANOR OF KILLULTAGH.

-- -- --

Edited by JAMES CARSON.

-- -- --

CXXI.

-- -- --

THE LINEN INDUSTRY IN ULSTER

By WILLIAM LARMOR.

(Continued.)

Damask Manufacture in Lisburn.

Lisburn appears to have been associated with this important branch of manufacture from its earlier stages of development in Ireland. There are traces of the manufacture of fancy patterns in Lurgan about the beginning of the eighteenth century. In 1712 a man called Quinn, who appears to have been very ingenious in fitting up looms for fancy weaving, settled there, and with the aid of two or three families of Huguenots commenced the manufacture of damask on an extensive scale. At this time the style of design seems to have been diaper patterns, which could be produced by a certain number of needles, which were connected with treddles and operated by the feet of the weaver.

In 1764, when William Coulson, the founder of the Lisburn Damask Factory, commenced work with a small number of looms, there was not much variety of patterns, and it was his determination to produce more intricate designs, which lead to the development of damask weaving. He adopted the system of damask weaving by means of draw-boys. In order to make the pattern more intricate the heddles had to be increased to such an extent that it was impossible for the weaver to operate them. Under the draw-boy system, the heddles were attached to pulleys placed above the loom. These pulleys raised and lowered the heddles, and were operated by the draw-boy, whose duty it was to read the pattern and operate the heddles accordingly. By this means more elaborate patterns were woven, and it was possible to introduce pictorial designs. Mr. Coulson was the first manufacturer who successfully worked into his designs armorial devices, national emblems, and heraldic designs, and his success was recognised by British Royalty, to whom he became manufacturer of damask.

Some idea of the intricacy of the mechanism employed to weave a tablecloth of extensive design can be gathered from the following description of a loom mounted to weave damask for a Royal patron:--

"It has five thousand sets of pulleys, and is so wonderful as to preclude the possibility of giving an accurate description, particularly of the method made use of to show a pattern or picture upon a ground where the ground and pattern are equally colourless."

This tablecloth, which was fourteen quarters wide was woven in a loom which required twelve weavers and four draw-boys to operate it.

Sixty years after the first damask loom had been erected in Lisburn, Mr. Michael Andrews started a factory at Ardoyne, which was described then as "being near Belfast." This was the means of drawing to that neighbourhood skilled damask weavers from all parts, and particularly from Lisburn. This seems to have been the commencement of damask weaving in Belfast. Belfast manufacturers, when starting, were able to take advantage of the new invention of Jacquard, which displaced the old draw-boy system, and brought damask manufacture to a greater state of perfection. Gradually the centre shifted until at a later date Belfast became the most important centre of linen damask manufacture in the world.

Thread Manufacture in Lisburn.

The thread manufacture was introduced into the North of Ireland in the year 1784 by Mr. John Barbour, who came from Scotland, and settled, very fortunately for Lisburn, at Plantation. This important branch of the industry affords a striking example of the benefits a community can derive from the judgment, enterprise, and determination of a capable business man. As thread spinning was unknown, Mr. Barbour, by employing qualified instructors, and by paying a high rate of wages, soon put the industry on a sound basis. Progress seems to have been rapid, and soon an extensive industry was established which gave regular and profitable employment to vast numbers of people in the vicinity. The success of the enterprise was assured, and in 1823 a site for its extension was chosen at Hilden, on the Lagan, at the spot where more than one hundred years before Louis Crommelin had erected his first bleachworks in Ireland. This now became the headquarters of the business and under the able and energetic leadership of the founder's son and successor, Mr. William Barbour, the business made rapid progress. Machinery was introduced and applied to the manufacture in 1840, with successful results, and from that time, by able leadership, by keeping abreast of the times, by improving and introducing the most up-to-date machinery, by a liberal scale of wages, by organisation, and by extension of enterprise the progress of the firm has been continuous, much to the benefit of thousands of workers in Lisburn and the vicinity.

The Domestic System.

Before considering the causes which led to the establishment of the factory system, and in order to understand clearly how the domestic system developed into the factory system, it will be necessary to glance at the organisation of the domestic system of industry.

As mentioned before, the manufacture of linen was in the hands of the farmers. Another class of manufacturer grew up who could employ ten or twenty hands. These manufacturers were called drapers and it was considered that a great advance had been made in social status when the weaver rose to that rank. As there was a considerable export of linen yarn to England, to which it will be necessary to refer later, there were considerable quantities of linen yarn being put on the market, which were bought largely for export purposes. The drapers were able to but yarns which they gave out to farmers to weave for them at fixed prices. In this way the markets were kept supplied with brown webs by both drapers and farmers, who sold to the bleachers. The bleachers were the most important and interesting men in the trade. In order to carry on their business it was necessary for them to have command of a considerable amount of capital, as they paid cash to the manufacturers and drapers for the cloth which they bought. The bleaching process in those days was a very slow one, consequently from the time the brown cloth was bought until it was bleached and disposed of a considerable time had to elapse. We find, therefore, that the bleachers were wealthy men who generally owned a lot of land and took a considerable interest in the trade. Some drapers, when they had accumulated a sufficient amount of capital, became bleachers, and some became merchants, giving out their cloth to the bleachers to be bleached, which they then disposed of either by sending it to factors in London or Dublin, or else sold it at the Linen Hall in Dublin to English merchants and factors, who came in great numbers to purchase their requirements.

In 1783 the White Linen Hall was established in Belfast, which was a significant fact showing that the centre of trade had shifted, and that the export was going from Belfast instead of from Dublin.

It is well to remember that during this stage of the industry the means of communication were in a very backward condition. Communication with London, then the commercial centre, was very slow. Arthur Young, famous for his tours, describes the roads as being "atrociously bad" in England, but in contrast the Irish roads he describes as quite good. Goods were conveyed by means of pack-horses and it was only towards the end of the eighteenth century, after the canals were made, that bulky and heavy goods could be conveniently transported.

Under the domestic system, no orders were booked before the goods were made. There was a constant flow of brown cloth to the different provincial towns from the weavers in the neighbourhood of each. In the year 1784 markets were held for the sale of linen goods in thirty-four towns in Ulster. Lisburn still held the lead at this time, and the amount of money paid out for linen each market day averaged £3,000 for that year. Lurgan came next with £2,500, Armagh £1,800, Dungannon £1,500, Belfast £1,000, Ballymena £1,000, Newry £1,000, Cootehill £1,000, Derry £1,000, Stewartstown £800, and the lesser markets averaged from £300 to £700. As mentioned before, the bleachers and merchants sold the cloth when finished to factors in London or Dublin, or to London merchants who came to Dublin to buy. The London merchants either shipped abroad or supplied the home markets, or did both. When the home market was catered for these merchants employed droves of pack-horses to carry it their goods to all the fairs and market towns throughout England. In the market towns they sold to the shops, and in the country districts through which they passed they dealt directly with the consumers. Hence arose the name packmen or pedlars, who were an economic feature at this time.

As banking was little developed, ready cash was an absolute essential for carrying on business. It 1750 there were only twelve country banks in England, which increased to about 400 towards the end of the century. In Ireland there was, practically speaking, no banking system during the eighteenth century. When merchants had to make payments abroad it was necessary to buy London bills, for which as high a premium as 14 per cent. had to be sometimes paid. Consequently those who could afford to do so bought bills when cheap and locked them away until required. This was a great disadvantage, as it meant that merchants had to use part of their capital in this way, which could have been more profitably used in developing their industry, and was one of the main reasons why the factory system developed more slowly in the linen industry than in the other textile industries. The accumulation of capital came most of all to the bleachers and merchants, and this capital at a later date enabled enterprising men to take advantages of the mechanical inventions, which were introduced first in the cotton industry, which caused the industrial revolution in England, and which made the factory system inevitable in the linen industry.

It will now be necessary to examine these causes which revolutionised the cotton industry, and which later had such a powerful effect in the linen industry.

The Cotton Industry

was in its infancy during the first part of the eighteenth century. As mentioned before, there was a large export of linen yarns to England during the century. At one period it was reckoned that three-fourths of the linen yarns spun in Ireland were exported, the reason being that cotton yarn could not be used for warp. Consequently there was really no cotton cloth manufactured, but only a union cloth, the linen yarns imported from Ireland being used for the warp and cotton yarns for the weft.

The first revolutionary impulse was the invention of the fly-shuttle by John Kay in 1738, by means of which the shuttle could be propelled from side to side of the loom between the warp threads by the weaver. Before the invention the weaver had to pass the weft through by hand and consequently a weaver could only weave narrow cloth. When the cloth was broad two or more weavers were necessary. By this invention broad cloth could be woven by one weaver. It also increased the speed of weaving, giving a greater output in a given time. This device does not seem to have been largely used until Kay's son Robert invented the drop-box in 1760. It then suddenly became popular, and caused a great increased demand for yarns owing to the speed of weaving. In fact, it upset the supply of yarns so much that a great shortage of yarns prevailed. More attention was then turned to spinning in order to increase the output.

In 1764 James Hargreaves, of Blackburn, invented the spinning-jenny, by means of which the treadle-driven wheel could drive a number of spindles. As very little power was required to work the spindles, it was not long before jennies were in use which spun twenty or thirty threads at the same time. Yarns became plentiful, and in a short time the supply increased so much that the weavers could not keep up, and spinners were soon short of work. The new machinery, was highly unpopular in consequence, and was frequently smashed by the workers.

In 1769 another invention had a very important effect. Richard Arkwright, who was a barber by trade, invented a machine called the water-frame. This machine was intended to be driven by a horse, and by means of successive pairs of rollers, each pair revolving at increasing speed, a thread was spun which was firm enough to be used for warp. In 1771 a mill driven by water-power was erected at Cromford, and in 1778 six small mills were put up at Oldham, three worked by horses and three by waterwheels. This invention was a very important one, because cotton yarn was now being spun strong enough to serve for warp. In a very short time linen warps were displaced, and all cotton cloth began to be manufactured. This fact caused a falling off in the export of linen yarns from Ireland, and in consequence must have stimulated the weaving trade in Ireland, as is evidenced by the fact that exports of linen cloth increased enormously from 1780 to 1795.

These inventions greatly reduced the cost of cotton yarns, and trade was quickly stimulated. A great demand arose for cotton cloth. The supply of yarns had increased so quickly that it looked as if sufficient weavers were not available to weave them up. Large quantities were being exported, but there were great discussions amongst the spinners as to what was going to be done with the output if yarns kept on increasing. In 1784 a minister of a very ingenious turn of mind, the Rev. Edmund Cartwright, hearing the gossip that was going on, conceived the idea of investing a weaving machine. He set himself to work, with the aid of a carpenter and smith, and constructed a machine which turned out very cumbersome. His reverence, however, persevered, it is to be feared much to the neglect of his spiritual duties, and finally improved on his first attempt, and produced the power-loom which eventually became a commercial success. The power-loom did not become popular for some time. This was owing to the fact that there had been no improvement in the method of dressing the yarn before weaving. There was not any advantage with the power-loom which it had to be stopped incessantly in order to dress the yarn as it was unwound off the back beam, which was a slow process. Consequently it could only be used where yarn-dressing was not necessary. This difficulty was overcome in the year 1803 by the invention of a dressing machine by Johnston, an employee of Messrs. Radcliffe & Ross, of Stockport, who had devoted much attention to the problem. By this invention the warp was dressed and wound unto the weaver's beam, which could then be placed in the loom and the yarn unwound as it was woven, continuously.

(To be continued.)

=========================

HEROIC LISBURN OFFICER.

DEEDS THAT WON THE M.C. AND BAR.

The following are the deeds, now officially announced, for which Second-Lieut. Simon Logan, Royal Irish Fusiliers, son of Mrs. Logan, Lewellyn Avenue, Lisburn, won the Military Cross and Bar to that decoration:--

On 30th September, 1918, near Dadizeele, this officer displayed great dash and personal bravery in leading his platoon in an attack on an enemy strong point. It was largely due to his fine leading that the strong point was carried, a large number of prisoners taken, and many enemy killed. Later, when his Company Commander was mortally hit in the open, this officer went out under withering machine-gun fire and brought him in. He set a fine example to all.

At Courtrai on the 15th October this officer was ordered to take his platoon under very heavy machine-gun fire across a pontoon bridge thrown across the Lys Canal, and reinforce about thirty men under Second-Lieutenant Steel, who had already crossed.

Before all his party were across the bridge was destroyed by shell-fire, but he crossed in a pontoon boat, which broke loose from the damaged bridge, and for four hours maintained his position on the enemy side of the Canal, and was of the greatest assistance to Second-Lieutenant Steel in charge of the bridgehead party.

He was wounded in crossing the Canal, but remained at duty, and eventually when the party was ordered to retire he so skilfully handled his men that this difficult operation was effected with very few casualties, a pontoon boat being used for that purpose.

His fine leadership and cool judgment undoubtedly inspired his men to fight hard for their lives for four hours, and eventually extricate themselves when ordered to do so from a most difficult position.

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LISBURN PETTY SESSIONS

This Court was held yesterday before Messrs. Alan Bell, R.M. (presiding), and Mr. W. J. M'Murray, J.P.

MR. ALLEN OUT AGAIN.

Before the commencement of the business,

The Chairman, addressing Mr. Joseph Allen, solicitor, who appeared in court for the first time since his recent serious illness, said: -- I am glad to see you out again, Mr. Allen, very glad, indeed.

Mr. Allen -- Thank you very much, Mr. Bell.

NOT AS BAD AS A BAD MARRIAGE.

Constable Newman summoned James Drake, Lissue, for drunkenness and indecent behaviour on the public street in Lisburn.

The Constable said defendant used very offensive language towards him.

Defendant -- I never used bad language; I wouldn't do such a thing.

The Chairman -- Can you read? If you can, you will see the language you used on that slip of paper (handed over).

Defendant looked at the paper, and shook his head.

The Chairman -- Any previous convictions against this man?

Head-Constable Goold -- No, your Worships.

Defendant was fined 5s and costs. He rose immediately to go out, and, passing the constable, he used a filthy expression towards him.

Mr. Wellington Young (solicitor) -- What! (To the Bench -- Did you hear that, jour Worships?

The Chairman -- No, I did not; what did he say?

Mr. Young -- He used a filthy and obscene expression towards constable.

The Chairman (angrily), -- Put that man in custody. I will deal with him at the rising of the court.

A couple of constables escorted Drake from court.

At the conclusion of the business, he was brought back again, when coming forward he said -- I am sorry for what I said.

The Chairman (to Drake) -- The language you used in this court here was very offensive and was a contempt of court. You ought to be ashamed of yourself. Will you behave yourself in future?

Defendant -- I will sir, I am very sorry.

The Chairman -- Very well, that's the proper way to meet it. You are discharged.

Mr. English (Clerk) -- What about paying the fine.

Drake -- Well, that's all right, it is not as bad as a bad marriage. (laughter).

Constable M'Loughlin summoned Maggie Frazer for drunkenness on 4th February. First offence. Defendant who pleaded extenuating circumstances, was let off with paying costs of summons.

Transfer of a Spirit License.

On application of Mr Joseph Allen, the Police offering no objection, Wm. James Hamilton was granted transfer of a spirit license, in Bridge Street, Lisburn, from Mrs. M'Larnon.

Alleged Larceny of a Door.

Lizzie Keenan, Back Lane, Lisburn, was prosecuted by the Lisburn Urban District Council for having in her possession a stable good belonging to the gas works.

Mr. Wellington Young prosecuted, and Mr. Allen appeared for Mrs. Keenan.

Mr. Young said the door was found in Defendant's possession, but as she was an elderly woman they did not believe she stole it herself, she could not carry it. She was charged with receiving it knowing it to have been stolen, what they wanted was to get the woman to tell who took the door, and the case had been adjourned at the last court with that view.

Mr. Allen pleaded guilty to unlawful possession. His client did not steal the door. On rising one morning before Christmas she found it laid up against her own door, and took it in to her own house. She made the mistake of not informing the police.

A. S. Brook, gas manager, said he saw a man named M'Cagherty breaking up the door for firewood outside Mrs. Keenan's, house practically on the street. He questioned him, and he said he was doing it for Mrs. Keenan. Mrs. Keenan herself came out, and admitted that that M'Cagherty said was true. He had no doubt the door belonged to the gas works.

Mr. Allen -- Do you think this woman could remove the door?

Mr. Brook -- I don't think this woman could.

Mr. Allen -- Have you any suspicion who did?

Mr. Brook -- I have my suspicions, but no proof.

Defendant was ordered to find bail, herself in £2 and one surety of £2, and was placed under the First Offenders Act.

Constable M'Donald summoned Samuel Gregory, Longstone, for driving a car without a light on the night of the 29th January. Fined 1s and costs.

 

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Deaths

DUNSTERVILLE -- On February 9th, in a Nursing Home in Dublin, following an operation J. W. E. Dunsterville, late R.M., in his 68th year.

ERSKINE -- February 12th, 1919, at her parents' residence, 13 Bachelor's Walk, Lisburn, Edie, youngest and dearly loved daughter of Wm. and Lizzie Erskine. Funeral to Lisburn Cemetery on Saturday, 15th inst., at 10 o'clock a.m.

Clippings

DEATH OF J. W. E. DUNSTERVILLE, R.M.

The death took place in Dublin recently of Mr. J. W. Dunsterville, late R.M. of Armagh. Mr. Dunsterville wait for some years district inspector in the R.I.C, when he was appointed by Lord Spenser during his second Vice-Royalty as his assistant private secretary. On Lord Spenser's retirement in 1885 Mr. Dunsterville accepted the position of Resident Magistrate, being first appointed to County Cavan, and was well known throughout Ireland until his retirement two years' ago. Mr. Dunsterville was brother of Mrs. G. H. Clarke, of Lisburn, and a cousin of General Dunsterville, who served with distinction in Mesopotamia during the war.

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THE LATE MRS. PAKENHAM.

A service for the late Mrs. Elizabeth Staples Pakenham, widow of Lieutenant-General T. H. Pakenham, C.B., who died on the 6th inst., at the age of 82, was held on Monday at Christ Church, Mayfair, London, and was conducted by the Rev. E. S. Hilliard, the vicar, and the Rev. F. W. Gilbey. Lieutenant-General H. A. Pakenham, C.M.G., only surviving son, was unable to be present owing to his being at Washington, U.S.A., on military service. The chief mourners were:-- Mrs. Brian Molloy (daughter-in-law) and Mr. Dermot Pakenham (grandson). Others present were -- The Countess of Longford, Colonel Mildmay Colonel R. M'Calmont, the Honourable Major Pakenham, the Honourable Hugh O'Neill, M.P., and Mrs. Hugh O'Neill, and Lady Ellis Ashley.

After the service the body was removed to Ireland, accompanied by Mr. Dermot Pakenham and Mrs. Molloy, the burial taking place on Tuesday at Gartree Church, Langford Lodge, Crumlin, where General Pakenham was buried some six years back. The officiating clergy at the burial were the Rev. Canon Clarke and the Rev. R. Singleton.

=========================

SOME EXTRACTS FROM THE

RECORDS OF OLD LISBURN

AND THE MANOR OF KILLULTAGH.

-- -- --

Edited by JAMES CARSON.

-- -- --

CXXII.

-- -- --

THE LINEN INDUSTRY IN ULSTER.

By WILLIAM LARMOR.

(Continued.)

The Factory System.

Meantime, James Watt was struggling with the steam-engine. In the year 1765, by a flash, of genius, he discovered the error in the Newcomen engine, which was then in use for pumping purposes, and after a long struggle he was able to remedy the defect and to produce a new engine which performed its work satisfactorily. The discovery of the "rotative" motion shortly afterwards enabled it to be applied to drive machinery, and in 1785 the first steam-engine was introduced into a cotton mill at Popplewick.

All these discoveries taken together dealt a fatal blow to the domestic system. The output of cloth was enormously increased, and the cost no greatly reduced that a great increase took place, in the demand. In fifteen years the cotton trade trebled itself. Old barns, cart-houses and out-buildings of every description were repaired and converted into loom-shops. Means of communication had improved, the canal system had become developed, the money market was springing up, banking had increased and was providing the necessary, capital and credit, without which the revolution could not have been carried out. Hand-loom weaving in the cotton trade gradually ceased to be a paying trade. It could not compete against the power-loom. Gradually the weavers flocked to the centres of manufacture seeking employment. They had to sacrifice their independence and submit to the discipline of the factory system. Under the domestic system where journeymen were employed, there was a great deal of intimacy between master and labourers, which brought about a good feeling between them. Under the new system, workers were thrown together under very hard and rigid conditions. The hours were long, and the employers in the early days not very humanitarian. A great proportion of them were self-made ignorant men who did not understand the economy of good wages and shorter hours. The workers had not grown up to the new system and found it oppressive. Consequently from the evils of those early days there sprang up that antagonism between employer and worker which has caused so many strikes and lock-outs, which has caused combinations between capital and labour, and which has handed down to our time industrial problems, the solving of which will be one of the greatest difficulties of the future.

It now remains to trace what the effects of the establishment of the factory system in the cotton industry were on the linen industry of the North of Ireland.

The mechanical inventions which revolutionised the cotton industry must have excited a great deal of interest amongst the linen manufacturers who soon heard about them. For a considerable time afterwards it was not thought practicable to apply any of these inventions to the manufacture of linen, consequently the minds of enterprising men turned instinctively to the manufacture of cotton. There had been some manufacture of cotton goods carried on in the north of Ireland previous to this time, but it now made rapid headway.

Lisburn again came to the front, and it is on record that the first steam-engine applied to drive machinery was in a Lisburn cotton mill. The following is rather interesting extract from McCall's history of the Cotton Manufacture in Ireland:--

Steam Power.

In 1789, Mr. Wallace erected a cotton mill in a court off Castle Street, Lisburn, and had the concern filled with the most modern machinery. Job Ryder, a shrewd watchmaker of Belfast, offered his services as superintendent of works, and these were accepted; but when all had been nearly finished, some difference of opinion arose between the proprietor and his people as to what description of "power" would be most effective for driving the spindles. The building being situate in the centre of the town no one of all the local streams could have been brought to bear on the machinery, horse-power was out of the question, consequently the only course open to Mr. Wallace was to call in the aid of steam. He had heard much about the discoveries of Watt and Boulton, but he was also aware that several manufacturers of Lancashire and Lanark, who had great experience in the matter, were of opinion that, besides its great cheapness, the strength of a mountain stream, where it could be made available, was quite equal to that of the new agent. As it was, Mr. Wallace had no choice, he must try steam power; and, for the purpose of personally examining the principle and seeing it at work, he set oft for Glasgow -- a full week's run in those days -- and on arriving there, he visited several concerns in the cotton spinning trade, and in each of which that machinery was driven by steam. Having been convinced of the superiority of the new principle, he purchased a fifteen horsepower engine, engaged competent mechanics to set it up, and returned home. Many were the difficulties he had to contend against in the preliminary proceedings -- a well had to be sunk to obtain water for condensing purposes, and competent hands had to be engaged to work at the concern; but at length all arrangements were completed, and Mr. Wallace enjoyed the triumph of seeing the first steam-engine that ever whirled in the North of Ireland driving the spindles of the Lisburn Cotton Mill. The wonderful power of mechanism stirred up immense curiosity, not only in that town, but in several other places, and many scientific men from distant parts of the North visited Lisburn to see the new power at work. A venerable friend of mine, who lived to a patriarchal age, and was one of that race of gentleman-farmers which has few representatives in these days, told me that he recollected perfectly the erection of Mr. Wallace's mill, and he described with great interest the excitement which had been created about the steam-engine. Its construction was, of course very inferior to that of those manufactured in after days, the beam having been made of wood, and the inner work roughly finished, still, it worked well and was considered a marvellous invention.

In 1793 another cotton mill was erected in Lisburn by George Whitla and Robert Stirling. That concern was not so large as that of James Wallace; it gave employment to fifty hands, and the spindles were driven by an engine of twelve-horse-power. These cotton spinning mills were carried on successfully for several years, but death and other casualties brought "about many changes, and in 1812 not a spindle was in motion in Lisburn."

The Cotton Manufacture

now extended very rapidly, and it looked about the beginning of last century as if cotton would displace linen manufacture. In the year 1800 ten thousand bales of raw cotton were landed at Belfast, and in the year 1807 the imports amounted to 14,000 bales, worth about £420,000. Another important factor must have helped to stimulate cotton manufacture; the interruption of the supplies of flax and flaxseed which was practically all imported from abroad, during the Napoleonic wars. Prices of flax increased enormously and manufacturers were obliged to turn their looms on to cotton the supply of the raw material being available.

It was natural at this period that Belfast should become an important centre, owing to the growing facilities for importing the raw material and exporting the finished article. We find, therefore, that out of the fourteen cotton spinning mills started about this time, ten were located in Belfast and the immediate neighbourhood, and gave employment to over two thousand hands.

By the year 1810 cotton manufacture seems in have attained its zenith in Ireland. In the year 1776 there were about 500 linen looms at works in Belfast. In 1790 there were 158 linen and 500 cotton looms, and in the year 1810 there were 6 linen looms and 860 cotton looms. From 1812 to 1814, owing to the war with America about the right of search, raw cotton supplies were interrupted, and cotton spinning in Ireland received a check. During the years of financial disasters that recurred at regular intervals after the Napoleanic wars, owing to the great fall in prices, great losses were sustained and cotton spinning lost ground rapidly until it became practically extinct in the North of Ireland in the year 1828.

During this period the Lisburn market was still the most important centre for the sale of brown cloth and was celebrated for the superiority of its thirty-eight inch linens. The turn-over at each day's sales, in the busy season, about the year 1816, amounted to £5,200. After this a gradual transition seems to have taken place, other markets increased in importance, and Lisburn gradually lost ground, until at a late date Ballymena and Armagh were finally the only two places where brown linens were sold in the open market, and when the domestic system was displaced this method of selling cloth disappeared altogether.

Flax-Spinning by Machinery.

was first invented and developed in England and afterwards introduced into Ireland. Experiments had been going on for some years previous to 1788, but during that year John Marshall, the son of a Leeds shopkeeper, entered into partnership with two others and erected a small mill in Leeds. It was not very successful at the commencement, but in the course of a few years the machinery was improved and the undertaking commenced to be a success. Under this system coarse yarns could only be spun as the flax was spun in a dry state. In the year 1825 Mr. Thomas Kaye, who was a very ingenious manufacturer, discovered the method of "wet spinning" which enabled yarns of much finer counts to be spun. This was a great stimulus to flax-spinning in England, and machine-spun yarn rapidly gained ground.

The year 1828 marks a very important period in the history of the linen industry in Ireland, for during that year flax spinning by steam power was adopted and introduced by two firms -- Messrs. Mulholland Bros., of York Street, Belfast, and Messrs. James and William Murland, Castlewellan. Both these enterprises were successful and succeeded beyond expectations. In a short time yarns were produced which were superior to those produced by hand-spinning, and besides the cost proved much cheaper. A great demand sprung up for machine-spun yarns, and the linen industry was greatly stimulated. Meantime, other important changes had taken place which accelerated the development of the new system. In 1825 the Irish coinage was reformed. There had been important accumulations of capital, and through the operations of banking which was now being developed in Ireland this capital could be readily utilised for the extension of enterprise. The channel was being cleared, shipping was increasing, and regular services between Belfast and English ports were established. It was now possible to transport easily heavy and bulky machinery necessary for the development of the industry. Improvement in spinning machinery quickly followed. The development was pushed energetically, and by the end of the year 1840 there were thirty-eight mills working in Ireland, containing 245,000 spindles, and hand-spinning had practically ceased to exist. In 1845 there were sixty mills at work containing 290,000 spindles and in 1850 the number of spindles bad increased to 330,000. This rapid growth continued until in the year 1867 the number of spindles at work in Ireland was about equal to the spindles of England and Scotland combined.

The date of the introduction of power-loom weaving into the linen manufacture in Ireland seems uncertain. McCall states that power-loom production of linen goods was "little thought of by Irish manufacturers until 1848, and even then was looked on by over-cautious men as a risky speculation." It is evident that the cloth was practically all produced in hand-looms up to this time. Enterprising bleachers and merchants had established hand-loom factories for the production of cloth on an extensive scale, and even successful and pushing country hand-loom weavers who had accumulated a little capital, took advantage of the facilities that Belfast offered to come there and start small hand-loom shops which were afterwards greatly developed. After 1850 the power-loom manufacture greatly extended, and in the year 1867 there were 12,500 power-looms at work in Ireland.

A special feature which encouraged the development of the factory system in Belfast is worthy of notice, and may explain to some extent the rapid development of the industry there in comparison with its development in other cities in the United Kingdom. Between 1828 and 1840 most of the land on which Belfast now stands was let at low rents under leases for lives renewable for ever, and by the operation of the Renewable Leaseholds Conversion Act 1848, these leases were converted into grants in perpetuity subject to the same rents and other payments as were reserved by the leases. Some years after the Donegall Belfast Estate was sold through the Encumbered Estate Court, and in many cases the rents were redeemed at low cost owing to values being depreciated by so much estate being thrown on the market at once. Where they were not redeemed the grant in perpetuity operates to prevent any increase in rent. As the urbanisation of industry was a feature of the industrial revolution, the development of the industry in Belfast received a notable advantage in this way.

The progress of industry has been continuous, and since 1867 it has quickly outstripped the linen industry in Great Britain where it has rapidly declined, until to-day there are about 1,000,000 spindles and 40,000 looms engaged in the manufacture of linen in Ireland, and as well as Irish linens having the reputation of being the finest in the world, the industry in Ireland occupies the premier place amongst the world's rivals.

Deductions.

In making this brief survey of the history of the development of our staple industry, one cannot help being impressed by the fact that the development has been unfortunately lob-sided; that is to say, the spinning, weaving, and marketing branches of the trade have developed, while there has been practically no progress made for nearly two hundred years in the culture of the flax and the method of preparing the flax for the market. As a matter of fact, the growth of flax instead of increasing with the growth of the industry had actually declined so much that the industry was being carried on mainly by the supplies of flax that were imported from abroad. During the great European war when these supplies were cut off, when the fate of our Empire was hanging in the balance, and when linen was vitally essential for the equipment of our aeroplanes the sorry spectacle was witnessed of frantic efforts having to be made at the eleventh hour to stimulate the growth of flax at home in order to help to bring the war to a successful issue. It was only when foreign supplies failed, and such a contingency never seemed to have been reckoned upon, that any thought was given to the idea of stimulating the culture of flax in Ireland. The farmer, although in some measure responsible for the diminution in the production of home grown flax, cannot be blamed for the weakness of the position of our industry during the critical years of the war. He was rendered powerless by the economic conditions which had been at work during past years. Foreign flax was imported cheaper than could be grown at home, consequently Irish farmers, not being philanthropists, neglected its culture.

The outstanding feature in connection with the development of our industry is the fact that the cost of the production and handling of flax in the hands of the farmers has increased, while, on the other hand, the cost of production in the other branches of the industry has under the factory system been enormously reduced. This latter has always been the case in every other industry, to which science, ingenuity and organisation have been applied. It would appear that there is a missing link in the organisation of the linen industry. The farmer should not be asked to do more than grow the flax, and by the assistance of education and the application of scientific methods there is no reason why the flax crop should not be profitable under normal conditions. When the crop has been harvested the farmer's work should cease. He has neither the capital nor the labour at his disposal, nor can he grow the flax in sufficient quantity to undertake the retting and handling in an organised and scientific manner. Because no advance has been made in the, retting and handling of the flax crop for two hundred years, no person would be insane enough to say that a state of perfection had been reached, that the old method of steeping in bog holes under arduous and difficult conditions where nature, never in a hurry, is allowed to work out her own ways, is the only one. It is here that an advance in the development of the industry is essential in order to cheapen the cost of production. There is room for the growth of an organisation to buy the flax straw from the farmers, to discover and apply scientific methods by which the spinner will be supplied with flax at a cost that will check foreign competition.

Already a movement is on foot to establish a Research Association in connection with the linen trade. Such a movement should receive the support of everyone interested in the welfare of our trade, and it is to be hoped that their efforts will be directed to try and find a remedy for the weak parts of the organisation of the industry.

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Hillsborough War Memorial.

The people of Hillsborough and district, if somewhat slow to move, do not allow the grass to grow under their feet once they take any matter in hand. The committee appointed only a few days ago in connection with the proposed war memorial met on Monday evening under the presidency of the Right Hon. Lord Arthur W. Hill, when, after considering various suggestions, it was decided to apply to the War Office for a pair of heavy guns which it is intended to have placed in the appropriate space opposite the Parish Church gates -- facing the imposing statue of the 4th Marquis of Downshire -- the names of all the gallant men from Hillsborough and district who made the supreme sacrifice to be inscribed on the base of the pedestals. Lord Arthur Hill has since applied to the Secretary of State for War for the two canon (fifty pounders).

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Lisburn Officer's Promotion.

Lieut. Philip C. R. Keightley, R.G.A., elder son of Sir Samuel and Lady Keightley, has been promoted to the rank of captain in the regular army. Captain Keightley, who was gazetted as Second-Lieutenant (on probation) on 14th December, 1915, has seen a great deal of service with the big gun section in France.

 

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Birth

BLAINE -- February 16th, 1919, at "Ashvale," Annahilt, Co. Down, to Mr. and Mrs. Andrew T. Blaine, a son.

Deaths

ANDREWS -- February 20, 1919, at his residence, 9, Young Street, Lisburn, James, dearly-beloved husband of Sarah Andrews. Funeral to family burying-ground, Blaris, on Saturday, at 3 p.m. Friends will please accept this intimation. Deeply regretted. SARAH ANDREWS.

ANDREWS -- February 20, 1919, at his residence, 9, Young Street, Lisburn, James, the dearly-beloved husband of Sarah Andrews. Funeral to family burying-ground, Blaris, on Saturday, at 3 p.m.
Inserted by his Daughter and Son-in-law, MARiA and ALEX. M.CLOY.

ANDREWS -- February 20, 1919, at his residence, 9, Young Street, Lisburn, James, the dearly-beloved husband of Sarah Andrews. Funeral to family burying-ground, Blaris, on Saturday, at 3 p.m.
Inserted by his Daughter and Son-in-law, JANE and ALEXANDER GIBSON. 49, Sloan Street, Lisburn.

LEWIS -- February 16th, 1919, at her residence, 108 Fort Street, Low Road, Lisburn, Ellen Lewis. Interred in Lisburn Cemetery on 18th ult. Deeply regretted by her sorrowing niece, Jane Lewis. American papers please copy.

NESBITT -- February 12th, 1919, at her residence, 30, Grove Street, Low Road, Lisburn, Isabella, relict of the late Jas. Nesbitt. Her remains were interred in the family burying-ground, Hillhall.

In Memoriam

HANNA -- In fond and loving remembrance of our dear father, who departed this life on 17th February, and was interred in family burying-ground, Hillhall.
   He suffered sore, great pain he bore,
      Physicians were in vain,
   Till God above in His great love
      Relieved him of his pain.
Sadly missed by his lonely children. LIZZIE and ALBERT HANNA. 25 Dublin Road. Lisburn.

Clippings

SOME ASPECTS OF SCOTTISH WIT All HUMOUR.

The articles, in the "Standard" which have dealt with Ulstermen and Ulster-Scots lead one to think of one characteristic common to both; that lighter quality commonly called wit. It has been said that the Scottish people do not possess the faculty of being witty. Not only that, but also that it requires a surgical operation to put a joke into a Scotsman's head. We all know of the Scot who heard a funny story one morning, and to the surprise of everybody, had a violent fit of laughter just at suppertime. It had taken the intervening time; for the pith and point of the joke to soak into his humourless brain! Nevertheless, a Scot can be funny, and he does appreciate humour when he sees it, no matter how the general opinion seems all the other way.

Of course, there is a great difference between the humour of the Irish man and the Scot; the one is merry and joyous and sparkling with laughter, like the effect a bright Irish sky would have on the temperament; the latter is dour and heavy, often pawky, and bears the effect of the more stern upbringing and sober atmosphere of Scottish life. We are speaking of the humour of a century ago. Alas, it has gone! The rush of present-day civilisation has quite changed both; that is in the more industrial re-modernised parts of both countries. How could we expect the quaint, ingenuous sallies we read of in by-gone days to thrive under smoky skies and amidst the worry and bustle of modern life. In those by-gone days things were taken at more leisurely pace, and more of the real essence of life's joy and laughter was got out of it. In comparison, present-day wit as we hear it, or read it in paper and magazine is lamentably thin and watery. Now it has become a profession almost to be funny; then it was real, integral part of the daily life of the people. The gift of humour in its many grades was common to all classes, and the poorest or humblest thought nothing of pointing a joke or directing a witty sarcasm at their superiors. In spite of all our advantages, indeed, it is doubtful if all ranks of society to-day are in as intimate connection with each other as they were then -- so delightfully and simply, too. We propose to retail a few of those choice stories with this in view, showing how in the Scottish life of that time the gift of humour was a gift common to all classes. In the main these stories are quoted from Dean Ramsay's "Reminiscences of Scottish Life and Character." One of the commonest features of the Scot, lowland or highland, is his coolness in all circumstances, his refusal to get excited or over-exhuberant, no matter how the circumstances call for such. This dry and unconcerned quality is seen to advantage in the following story, a gentleman was sitting in a stage-coach at Berwick, and was complaining bitterly to his fellow-passengers of the condition of the cushion on which he sat. On looking up to the roof he saw a hole from which the rain was descending copiously. He called for the coachman, and in great wrath reproached him with the evil under which the suffered, and pointed to the hole which was the cause of it. All the satisfaction he got, however, was the quiet unmoved reply, "Ay, mony a ane has complained o' that hole." The following is a good example of child-humour and shows that the humourist also is born not made. It is related of the son of an old Mr. Campbell, of Jura. It seems the boy was much spoilt by indulgence. In fact, the parents were scarce able to refuse him anything he demanded. He was in the drawing room on one occasion when dinner was announced, and on being ordered up to the nursery, he insisted on going down to dinner with the company. His mother was for refusal, but the child persevered, and kept saying, "If I dinna gang, I'll tell thou." His father then for peace sake let him go. So he went and sat at a table by his mother. When he found everyone getting soup, and himself omitted, he demanded soup, and repeated, "If tell thou." His father then for peace given, and various other things yielded to his importunities, to which he always added the usual threat of "telling thou." At last when it came to wine, his mother stood firm, and positively refused, as "a bad thing for boys" and so on. He then became more vociferous than ever about "telling thou," and as still he was refused, he declared, "Now, I will tell them thou," and at last roared out, "Ma new breeks were made oot o' the auld curtains." We mentioned that there was perfect freedom in these days between all classes, and many a joke was made by servant at the expense of master, without the slightest offence being taken. The following is a case in point. A former Duke of Athol was met one day by one of his gardeners. He asked him, "How Marget, his wife, was the day," to which the man replied that she had that morning given birth to twins. Upon which the Duke who had no family of his own, said, "Well, Donald, ye ken the Almighty never sends bairns without the meet." To which Donald replied, "That may be, your grace, but whiles I think that Providence maks a mistak in thae matters, and sends the bairns to ae hoose and the meat to anither." Next to the Laird, the minister probably came in the social scale, and, while the folk had a due respect for his office, sometimes his person and his performance did not escape their shafts of humour. A young minister was preaching for a few Sundays in a country pulpit, and on one of these occasions dined with one of the famers after service was over. He thought it necessary to apologise to his host for eating so substantial a dinner. "You see," he said, "I am always very Hungry after preaching." The old gentleman, not much admiring the youth's ministrations at last replied sarcastically, "Indeed, sir, I'm no' surprised at it, considering the trash that came off your stomach in the morning." The following story is also good. The Laird in this case being the unconscious humourist. A Laird in a small way once called see the late Duke of Hamilton, with whom he had business, and the Duke politely asked him to lunch. A liveried servant waited upon them, and was most assiduous in his attentions to the Duke and his guest. At last the latter lost patience, and looking at the servant, addressed him thus, "What the deil are ye dance, dancing, about the room that gait; can ye no draw in your chair, and sit down? I'm sure there's plenty on the table for three!" Our last story has a touch of grimness about it. Funerals in the days we speak of were attended by scenes the reverse of solemn and a farmer had been exercising hospitality at an inn near by his house, where his second wife lay dead. The master of the inn on looking over his bill, defended his charge as moderate, when the farmer reminded him "Ye forget, man, that its no ilka ane that brings a second funeral to your house."

These are few specimens of the humorsome tendencies of the past generation of Scots. Dean Ramsay's "Reminiscences" from which these samples are culled is, indeed, a treasure, and the lucky owner of his immortal work can, when he is so minded dip into its pages anywhere, and find himself refreshed by the charm of his writing. In a future issue we hope to quote and comment on a few more of these stories.

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FORTHCOMING WEDDING.

The engagement is announced between Lieutenant-Colonel Ogilvie Blair Graham, D.S.O., Rifle Brigade eldest son of Mr. and Mrs. Graham, of Larchfield, Lisburn, and Winifred, younger daughter of Canon J. Battersby Harford and Mrs. Harford, The Residence, Ripon.

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LISBURN PETTY SESSIONS.

This fortnightly court was held yesterday day before Messrs. W.J. M'Murray, J.P., (presiding,) Augustus Turtle J.P., Robert Griffith, J.P., and Mr. John M'Gonnell, J.P., Mr. T.J. English, C.P.S. was in attendance.

Alleged Breach of Flour Order.

William Drake, Lissue, was charged by the Police with an alleged breach of the Flour Restrictions, viz., purchasing 140lbs. of flour, at one time when the regulations only allowed the purchase of two stone weekly.

Mr. W. G. Maginess defended.

Constable Newman said that on the 29th January, he saw Drake with a horse and cart in Bow Street, Lisburn, and with no the bags on the cart was labelled and one the bags on the cart was labelled "best flour 140lbs." He questioned and the latter replied:-- I will give you no information as to where I got it. The flour is mine, you can find out where I got it. I am only coming from Belfast. Drake made use of very bad language -----

Mr. Maginess -- You got him fined on this day fortnight for that -- are you going to fine him again?

Constable Newman -- No.

Head-Constable Goold -- No one can purchase in Ireland more than 2 stone of flour in any one Week.

Mr. Wellington Young, solicitor -- It is time some of us knew that.

Replying to Mr. Maginess, on cross-examination, Constable Newman said that the bag on Drake's cart was stamped "Flour" on the outside. He did not open or examine what was in the bag. The Order allowing the purchase of a bag of flour did not apply to Ireland.

Mr. Maginess submitted that there was no evidence at all before the court. The onus was on the police to prove that it was flour that was in the bag, but the constable could not do that, as he did not examine it.

Their worships dismissed the case without prejudice.

Railway Prosecution.

The Great Northern Railway prosecuted a youth named John Grant for travelling a greater distance on the railway than the fare paid for his ticket entitled him to travel.

Mr. Wellington Young, who appeared to prosecute, said that defendant in that case had purchased a ticket to Lisburn, and had travelled on to Moira. The Act under which the prosecution was brought laid it down that a defendant in such a case should forfeit -- not pay a fine -- but forfeit to the railway company a sum not exceeding 40s., or, as an alternative, go one month to jail. When asked for the excess fare, defendant replied that he had got no money.

Mr. Joseph Lockhart (for defendant) pleaded guilty to the offence. The defendant had been ill and out of work, and had not the money at the time to pay his full fare. He promised to pay the difference to the ticket checker at Moira.

Isaac M'Clure, ticket checker, said that Grant presented a "Belfast to Lisburn" ticket at Moira Station, and said he had got no money. He promised to pay the difference next day, but never did so.

Defendant was ordered to forfeit 5s., and 20s. costs to the Railway Company.

Drunkenness.

Sergt. Regan summoned Mary Irvine for drunkenness on the 30th January. First offence. Defendant, who said she had taken the pledge, was fined only 1s. and costs.

Cycling Without Lights.

Arthur Nelson and James Ferguson were fined 1s. each for cycling without a light, and Henry M'Cully and Daniel Dornan were each ordered to pay 2s. 6d. for a similar offence. Neither M'Cully nor Dornan appeared.

Heavy Compensation for Window Smashing.

Corporal Hugh Matthews, a returned prisoner of war, was charged with deliberately breaking a large plate glass window in the premises of Peter Fusco, Bow St.

Mr. Michael Lavery, on behalf of defendant, pleaded guilty. He said that defendant joined up in 1914, and that from 1916 to 1918 he fought in every big engagement on the Belgian front. He was eventually taken prisoner, and was for ten months in Germany, where he endured sufferings sufficient to unhinge the mind of the strongest man. Corporal Matthews was released about six weeks ago, and only arrived home in Lisburn a few days back. On Saturday night last, in company with some friends, he got some drink, and while passing Fusco's shop he lifted a stone, and before his friends could prevent him, broke the window. Since then he had paid £10 10s. 6d., the full amount of the Insurance Company's claim, and had expressed his great regret to Mr. Fusco. No one regretted the action more than did Corporal Mathews himself, as he had nothing against Fusco, for whom he used to work prior to the war. In the whole circumstances, he would ask their worships to mark the case -- "Withdrawn."

Head-Constable Goold -- Under the circumstances, we leave the matter entirely in the hands of your worships.

The Chairman (to Fusco) -- Have you anything to say, Mr. Fusco.

Mr. Fusco -- No; I have nothing to say.

The case was marked "Withdrawn."

Tramp Woman Jailed.

Constable Newman summoned a tramp woman named Jane M'Allister for drunkenness on the 21st December. He said defendant came and threw herself on the streets in front of the police barracks, knowing it being a Saturday night, that she would be able to get away on the Sunday before a summons could be served on her. She was in the habit of playing that trick. She had turned up a couple of nights ago, and had been arrested twice since.

Constable Barry said he arrested defendant for drunkenness on the public street on Tuesday, and Sergeant Duffy said he had to arrest her again the following day. She was lying on the road at the workhouse gate helplessly drunk. Several complaints had been made about her conduct.

Defendant was fined 10s. or seven days' imprisonment in each of the three cases.

Mr. English (to defendant) -- Are you going to pay?

Defendant -- I will when I rob somebody.

Mr. English -- All right.

Defendant was removed in custody.

Application for a Warrant.

A woman with a shawl about her face, which was all battered and blackened, applied for a warrant for the arrest of another woman who, she alleged, had disfigured her.

Sergt. Regan, replying to the bench, said that the trouble occurred in a common lodging house in Bridge Street. It was a terrible ground. There were four beds in one room, about one foot apart, and males and females slept in the same room.

The woman insisted on having a warrant issued. She was advised to issue a summons, and was cautioned that it would cost her 1s. 6d. She replied that she was not going to have herself disfigured for nothing; she paid the money, and the summons was issued there and then.

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DEATH OF REV. J. M. HAMIL, EX-MODERATOR OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY.

Rev, J. M. Hamil, M.A,, D.D., Professor of Systematic Theology in the Assembly's College, Belfast, has died. He was a native of Ballymoney, and had a distinguished career at Queen's College, Belfast. He graduated B.A. in 1876 in the Old Queen's University with first-class honours, and M.A. in 1877. He was ordained in 1879 in Omagh and in 1884 was installed in Lurgan and was appointed to the Assembly's College in 1895. He was Moderator, General Assembly, 1915-16.

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AN IRISHMAN'S THIRST.

An Irish soldier, Patrick Malloy, found naked at the edge of a pond at Grimsby trying to break the ice, told the police he wanted a drink. The magistrates remanded him for a medical examination to be made, and no wonder.

 

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SOME EXTRACTS FROM THE

RECORDS OF OLD LISBURN

AND THE MANOR OF KILLULTAGH.

-- -- --

Edited by JAMES CARSON.

-- -- --

CXXIII.

-- -- --

THE ANNALS OF LISBURN AND VICINITY.

1442. -- The Dioceses of Down and Connor United.

1579. -- Castle-Robin, on the White Mountain, re-built by Sir Robert Norton. Earlier a stronghold of the O'Neills stood on the same site.

1585. -- Sir Shane O'Neill, the Captain of Kill-ul-Tagh, owned the territory of Killultagh, and a stronghold of his is believed to have been situate in what is now known as the Castle Gardens. The Captain joined the Earl of Tyrone in rebellion, was outlawed about 1606, and his estate seized by the Crown and given to General-Conway. Sir Foulke Conway, in 1614, was Governor of Ennis-Loughlin, one of the last of the native forts, situate at Trumra, near Moira.

1586. -- Killultagh is described as "a very fast country, full of wood and bog, bordering on Lough Neagh." The name of Killultagh is used in three senses. First, it is the name of a townland, the fuller name of which is Derry Killultagh. Secondly, there was the territory of Killultagh, an ancient term, defined as the district lying between the River Lagan and Lough Neagh. Sir Foulke Conway received a grant of this territory, other portions were added, and it became known later as the Manor of Killultagh.

1608. -- Sir Foulke Conway received a grant of the territory of Killultagh. Afterwards other lands were added, and it became known as the Hertford Estate. Sir Foulke was succeeded, in 1624, by his brother, Sir Edward, Baron Conway, Viscount of Killultagh. He built, about 1630, the Castle, of which remains still exist in the Castle Gardens. It was destroyed by the great fire of 1707, and never re-built. It was by Sir Foulke Conway, and in his time, that the town was laid out, practically in its present form, in so far as regards Castle Street, Bridge Street, and Market Square.

1608. -- Long prior to 1608, probably before the reign of Queen Elizabeth, there was a small village here, even then known as Lisnegarvey, Linsley Garvin, or Lis-na-Garvagh -- Gamester's Mount. To the North East of the town there was a mount, moated about, and another to the South West, these were surrounded with a great wood, and thither resorted all the Irish outlaws to play cards and dice.

1610. -- Plantation of Ulster by James I.

1610. -- The early settlers of Killultagh, brought over by the Conway family, were chiefly from the counties of Worcester, Warwick, and Gloucester. The tradition of the people for long was that their fathers came from "the apple counties" of England.

1611. -- Brookhill, built by Sir Foulke Conway. An earlier building is said to have been erected there by Sir Francis Brook.

1623. -- The church of St. Thomas opened for Divine service, re-named Christ Church, and raised to the dignity of a Cathedral in 1662. It was destroyed by fire twice. In 1641, during the battle of Lisburn, and in 1707, at the time of the great conflagration that consumed almost the whole of Lisburn. Canon Pounden, who was appointed rector in 1884, carried out many extensive improvements, both to the interior and exterior of the edifice, expending thereon some £3,000. He was 62 years in Holy orders, and died in 1917 at the advanced age of 87 years. The church records exist in almost unbroken succession from 1639.

1628. -- A charter establishing the Lisburn markets was granted to Viscount Conway by Charles I.

1641. -- Piper Hill received its name in 1641. During the battle of Lisburn the head of a piper of one of the regiments was blown off and rolled down the hill, hence the name.

1641. -- The battle of Lisnagarvey was fought on the 28th day of November, 1641, when the Irish Rebels attempted to capture the town. The garrison was under the command of Sir George Rawdon. The battle continued from early morning till late into the night, and the town was practically burnt to the ground. Some 200 rebels were slain in Bridge Street, and 300 Castle Street. In their retreat the rebels burnt Brookhill House, containing Lord Conway's library and other goods to the value of five or six thousand pounds.

1641. -- The Old Castle, Hillsborough, erected. It was strongly fortified, and in 1660, it was made a Royal Garrison. King William III., on his march to the Boyne, spent two days in it. From it the king issued the Royal Warrant authorising the payment of £1,200 yearly to the Presbyterian ministers of Ulster.

1644. -- General Munroe made an attempt to get possession of the town of Lisburn, but was frustrated by the vigilance of the garrison.

1648. -- A great victory was obtained by the Parliament's Forces in the North of Ireland, on the Plains of Lisnegarvey, at Lisnastrain, Parish of Drumbeg, against the Royalists and Irish there, wherein were 1,400 slain, Colonel John Hamilton taken prisoner, and seventeen more of quality. The place of the encounter is described as at a "boggy pass," and that Lord Clandeboy was slain or sank in a bog, being corpulent.

1648. -- Derriaghy Church, it is said, was almost destroyed during a battle between the Royalist and Scotch forces. In 1750 the roof was of shingles. The old church enlarged in 1813; the new church consecrated 1872.

1662. -- A Charter, dated 1662, erected the Church of Lisburn into a Cathedral for the United Dioceses of Down and Connor, and empowered the inhabitants of Lisburn to return two Burgesses to the Irish Parliament, which they did till 1802, when the representation was limited by the Act of Union to one member.

1664. -- Portmore Castle, Ballinderry, erected by Lord Conway, on the site of a more ancient fortress. It contained accommodation for two troops of horse, with a range of stabling, 140 feet in length, 35 feet in breadth, and 40 feet in height. It was dismantled in 1761.

1667. -- Bishop Jeremy Taylor died in Lisburn in the year 1667, in a house in Castle Street, almost opposite the entrance to the Cathedral, and was buried at Dromore. He resided at various times at Portmore, Hillsborough, Magheralave, and Castle Street, between the years 1658 and 1667. He was a lecturer in Lisburn Church, and later created Bishop of Down and Connor.

1683. -- Lord Conway died without an heir, and left his Irish estate to Colonel Seymour, who took the name of Seymour-Conway.

1684. -- Sir George Rawdon was possibly the most influential man in Killultagh in the 17th century. He was M.P. for Belfast in 1639, and resided for a time at Brookhill. In 1654 he built a residence in Lisburn, having married in that year, as his second wife, Dorothy Conway, sister of the second Viscount Conway. Rawdon assisted in the defence of Lisburn against the Irish rebels in 1641. He was the ancestor of the Earl of Moira. Died in 1684 and was buried in Lisburn.

1687. -- Rev. Silvanius Haslam, rector of the parish, built a row of cottages which still bears his name -- Haslam's Lane. It was situated a short distance from the Sluice River, which crosses Bow Street, close to the Ulster Bark. At this period the southern section of the town was said to end with the Sluice River, which ran unbridged across the street. The portion afterwards known as Bow Lane, consisted only of a few scattered houses.

1689. -- Lisburn is described as one of the prettiest inland towns in the North of Ireland, and one of the most English-like places in the Kingdom.

1689. -- Duke Schomberg summoned all the gentlemen in the country to meet him at Lisburn, where they presented him with an address, and agreed upon rates for all sorts of provisions which were commanded to be sold according to the Duke's proclamation, but this was very disagreeable to the country people who had been receiving treble rates before for everything purchased from them.

(To be Continued.)

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THE V.A.D. ORGANISATION

Ambitious Post-War Programme.

The following statement has been issued by the Central Joint V.A.D. Committee -- Numerous inquiries having been made as to the future work of the V.A.D.'s of the British Red Cross Society, Order of St. John of Jerusalem, and the Territorial Force, it is notified that a movement is on foot to oak the International Red Cross Societies throughout the world to cover civil distress as well as the needs of the sick and wounded in war.

There is reason to believe that such a convention will be called, and that the outcome will be the extension of the activities of the Red Cross to subjects such as infant and child welfare, district nursing work, and tuberculosis?

There is also a scheme for the distribution of ambulances which are being returned to this country from various war zones. It is, therefore, hoped that every effort will be made to keep together the organisation, especially the Voluntary Aid Detachments now in existence, to enable any work that may he approved being carried on without unnecessary delay.

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SOLDIERS' GRAVES IN FRANCE.

Mr. Churchill stated in reply to Sir Beville Stonier in the House of Commons, that the question of a cruciform memorial, distinguished from the headstone with a cross engraved upon it, on the graves of the soldiers killed in France, had for some time been engaging the attention of the Imperial War Graves Commission. No decision of a hasty or arbitrary nature would be taken, and every endeavour would be made to interpret truly the wishes of these concerned.

Mr. Devlin -- What physical difficulty is there in placing a cross over a grave?

Mr. Churchill -- I could explain in detail to my hon. friend how great the difficulty is, especially having regard to the length of time within which it is necessary that the memorials should be put up. There are more 500,000 graves to be dealt with in France alone.

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IMPORTANT COAL PROSECUTION AT LISBURN.

LIGHTERMAN PLEADS GUILTY TO GRAVE CHARGE.

A special court of petty sessions was held in Lisburn Courthouse yesterday, before Messrs Augustus Turtle, J.P. (presiding) and William Davis J.P., when John Hewitt, n Lagan Canal lighterman, Ellis Court) Armagh, was charged with unlawfully taking and stealing 4 tons of coal the property of his employers, Messrs. Stevenson and Co., Coalisland, Co. Tyrone, and George Greer, Quay Street, Lisburn, was charged with aiding and abetting Hewitt in the theft, and receiving the coal.

District Inspector Gregory prosecuted; Mr. W. G. Maginess appeared for both defendants; Mr, H. A. Maginess represented Messrs. Stevenson, and Mr. D. Barbour Simpson watched the proceedings on behalf of an interested party whose name was not disclosed.

At the outset Mr. Maginess for defendants, said he thought he could shorten the case if he were allowed to make a statement. The lighterman was entitled to sell coal if he found he was overladen, the money, of course, to go to the company. In this particular instance he sold 4 tons of coal at full market price not to Greer; but to a third party. Unfortunately the money did not go to the Company. The Company, however, was satisfied that the money would be returned by the lighterman, whom they were retaining in their services, and whom they did not wish to prosecute. So far, therefore, as the lighterman was concerned he would plead guilty. All Greer did was to help to conduct the sale to a third party. The coal was bought and paid for at full market price, and Greer naturally thought that the lighterman was acting legitimately in selling the coal. In the circumstances he failed to see why their worships should sit there all day and send two men forward for trial when the result would be the same at the Assises. He thought that if Hewitt were placed under the First Offenders Act justice would be met in his case.

Mr. H. A. Maginess said he appeared for Messrs. Stevenson and Co., Coalisland who did not wish to prosecute.

District Inspector Gregory -- It it not a matter for the Company; this is a Crown prosecution.

Mr. Maginess, senior, said that every case that came before that court was a Crown case.

District Inspector Gregory -- In addition to Hewitt, I am here to prosecute George Greer. What about him?

Mr. Maginess -- Greer got no money; he received no goods; he did nothing more than arrange the price between the lighterman and a third party. The third party was in the court as a Crown witness, and he would prove that he bought and paid for the coal. Mr. Maginess, proceeding, said that Hewitt, the lighterman, was in the habit of disposing of coal at Lisburn when his boat was overladen, and produced a letter from Mr. A. S. Brook showing that Mr. Brook, on behalf of the Lisburn Gas Works had purchased coal from Hewitt. The only difference in the present case was that the purchaser, unlike Mr. Brook, did not telephone the firm at Coalisland, and have the purchase confirmed.

The District Inspector -- Would it not be as well if we put up Mr. Dudgeon and hear the facts.

Mr. Anthony Dungeon sworn, said he was a director of Messrs. Stevenson and Co., Ltd., Coalisland. John Hewitt was in the employment of the Company. If the cargo was too heavy for the higher levels, Hewitt had liberty to dispose of a quantity of coal, but before doing so he must telephone the Company. It was rarely that such a thing as lightening the load was necessary, but he knew of it being done on two occasions.

By the District Inspector -- The lighterman would apply for authority to sell or get confirmation of the sale from the Company. In this particular case Hewitt did not acquaint the Company of the sale. It was all right when he got liberty to sell, but be did not get liberty in that case.

Mr. Maginess (senior) -- Supposing Hewitt had pointed out the sale to you in this case you would have been satisfied? -- Yes.

What you want to put a stop to is sales of this kind? -- Yes; without authority from the Company.

He has admitted this offence to you, and you are willing to keep him on? -- Yes. He has agreed to pay the money, and I believe he will.

They were Scotch coal. The price he got was £2 10s, per ton. Was that a fair price? -- Yes; that is the value of the coal.

Mr. Maginess said he could neither call the lighterman nor the other man to give evidence. If the money had been forwarded to the Company, the Company would have been satisfied.

District Inspector Gregory -- Certainly. But the whole gist of the thing is -- Is the fellow to sell the coal and keep the money.

Mr. Maginess -- Hewitt had authority to sell, therefore there is no evidence against Greer.

District Inspector Gregory (to the witness) -- Is it an understood thing that if fellow to sell the coal and keep the money? off a certain amount? -- He must do that if he is overloaded for our canal.

But he has no liberty to sell coal without informing the firm? -- No; he must first telephone us, and get authority to discharge.

The Chairman -- Does that happen often? -- Very rarely. Perhaps twice in the year. There is plenty of water in the canal just now.

Mr. Maginess -- So far as this case is concerned you have no evidence against Greer. It was the latter's brother-in-law who purchased the coal, and he paid full price for them. Greer did not know that Hewitt had not permission to sell. I want your worships to take a plea of guilty in the lighterman's case and refuse informations in the other case.

District Inspector Gregory -- Another point, can you explain how Greer got the horse and cart into the yard that night, because the gate was locked up? We would like an explanation of that. If you can give a satisfactory explanation of that, I don't know about going on with the case.

On this particular point it was decided to hear the evidence of the man in charge of the key on that particular evening -- 21st December, 1918.

Arthur M'Shane, Jeffrey St., Crumlin Road, Belfast, deposed that he was a boatman in the employment of Miss Allister, Lisburn. On the evening in question, the Saturday before Christmas, he left his boat at the quay between 7 and 8 o'clock to go up town. The gates were locked before he got the keys, and he put the keys in his pocket and took them up town with him. So far as he knew there was only one key for the gate. When he returned some time after nine o'clock the gates were open, and there was a horse and cart inside about three yards back from the breast of the Quay. The boat "Lizzie," of Coalisland, was beside the Quay. John Hewitt defendant, was the master of the "Lizzie." Hewitt was on his boat, and Greer was on the Quay. Witness pulled the gates too. Greer said he would see that the gates were locked all right, as he had got some stuff to take through. Witness left the gates open, as Greer said he "had a key that would lock them. He did not ask Greer any questions, but only passed a remark to lock the gates, and Greer replied that be would see that the gates were locked.

Mr. Davis, J.P. -- Have you any knowledge yourself whether Messrs. Millar and Stevenson have a key for the gate as well as Miss Allister?

Witness -- Miss Allister told me there was no key but the one.

Replying to Mr. Maginess, witness said that to get in to the Quay you must go through the gates. There was no secrecy about what Greer was doing so far as he knew. Anyone could see anything that was going on.

Mr. Maginess (to the court) -- This witness's evidence only confirms what I told you.

District Inspector Gregory -- There is only supposed to be one key -- that provided by the Urban Council. If other parties can get keys coal owners would have no security at all.

Mr. Davis, J.P. said that the gate had been placed at that particular place with a view to protecting life -- preventing anyone going down there, and dropping into the canal -- and not to protect the coal owners' property.

District Inspector Gregory -- There is going to be very little protection of life or anything else if the gate is going to be left open like this.

Their worships retired to consult. On returning to court a few minutes later,

The Chairman announced that they refused informations in the case against Greer. In the case of Hewitt they had decided to let him off under the First Offenders Act on his finding bail -- himself in £10 and one surety of £10 -- to come up for judgment if called upon.

Bail was immediately forthcoming.

[There was no heat whatever in the Courthouse, the temperature of which was enough to give anyone double pneumonia. We do not know who is responsible for this condition of affairs, but it is time it was seen to.]

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IN MEMORY OF AGHALEE HEROES.

The parishioners of Aghalee, diocese of Dromore, have resolved that the bed supported in the Fuh-Ning Women's Hospital of the Dublin University Fur-Kien Mission -- a movement inaugurated by the late rector, the Rev. Douglas Scott, B.A. -- is now to be named "The Douglas Scott Memorial Bed." Recently a sale of work was held with such success that a second bed has been adopted "In Memory of Aghalee Soldiers."

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PRICES OF LEMONS.

Although the wholesale prices of lemons have fallen considerably below what they were a month ago, the retail prices in some cases do not show a corresponding reduction. The Sitrous Fruit (Prices) Order was temporarily suspended in the hope that fair-prices would be instituted automatically by the retailers. Unless the Food Controller's anticipations in this respect are realised, it may be necessary to bring the Order again into operation with a lower schedule of prices.

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LIBERATION OF TEA.

After consultation with all sections of the tea trade the Food Controller has decided that the suspension of the Orders governing the distribution and price of tea shall come into effect on March 24.

Detailed instruction as to the transition period will shortly be issued to the trade. Meanwhile, it should be noted that, up to March 24, consumers may only purchase tea from retailers with whom they are registered, and retailers may only sell tea at the fixed price of 2s 8d per lb.

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BELFAST BANKRUPTCY COURT.

The weekly sitting of the Belfast Bankruptcy Court was held on Monday in the County Courthouse, before the Registrar (Mr, T. C. Houston, LL.B,). The Official Assignee (Mr. R. S. Grainger) was in attendance,

IN RE LARMOUR AND HUSBAND.

Bankrupts were W. J. Larmour and James Robertson Husband, carrying on business as wholesale warehousemen at 32, Ann Street, Belfast, under the style of James Robertson & Co.

Mr. James Alexander said the matter was before the Court to confirm an offer of composition after bankruptcy made by the bankrupt with W. J. Larmour. The offer was to pay 1s in the £1 in cash. The creditors had received previous dividends.

The usual order was made.

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Nurses' Uniform Allowance.

In accordance, with notice of motion, Mr. Sloan moved that the nurses be allowed £4 per annum instead of £2 as at present, to provide a uniform. The nurses had applied for an increase.

Mr. M'Murray seconded the motion, which was passed unanimously.

The question of providing a new ambulance as well as that of turning the institution into a district hospital was referred to committee, in the former case full board power being granted.

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The Speaker as "Guv'nor." -- On the Speaker ruling a point of procedure, Mr. J. J. Jones cried out, "Don't assume too much power, guv'noor." Many protests Were raided,and the Speaker rebuked Mr. Jones, who said that his remark did not refer to the Speaker.

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Irish Naval Commander's Bigamy. -- Lt. Commander A.H. Ruddle R.N., a native of Cork, pleaded guilty at Aberdeen to having bigamously married Muriel Alice Schaschi, Edinburgh, while he was married to a lady in Wick, and was sent to the High Court for sentence.

 

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