Armachiana Volume 13

,AGH NISCELLAIIBA V0L.XIII

Pages The Newry Canal

1-1 04

The Tyrone Navi gation

105-1 51

The Lagan Canal

152-178

Armagh-Blackwatert er Canal

179-1 88

The Ulster Canal

189- 213

Extrac t s from Newry Telegraph

214- 238

The cont ents of these volumes l a belled Armachiana

are simply notes for t alks to

local and visiting societies in search of

material relating to it s historical background and ancient monuments .

They a re not of any

great i mportance but may provide a gui de to students seeking da t a on the county g enerally or on their own distri ct s i n particular .

TGF Paterson

Armachiana Volume 13 The contents of this digital resource is openly licensed via Creative Commons licence CC BY-NC 4.0 enabling reusers to copy and distribute the material for noncommercial purposes and only so long as attribution is given to the creator.

If any of the material is reproduced, in any form and in any medium, Armagh County Museum should be acknowledged as the source and the reference below cited.

Armachiana Vol1 (Armagh County Museum ARMCM.28.2014.42)

D.695/51

2ZL~u g.

Llv 99

A. Brown lowe, Lurga n to Capt. Samuel Waring "to bee Left at Mr. Butte rfield s in fisham ble-st reet, Dubli n".

LEndorse<17 " ..••. Mr. Brownlowe of ye glannb ogg .•..• " "I reed. yors and read yor. obser vation s on ye Glin bogg with a great deale of satisf actio n, And have since discou rsed one Fowle r a neighb or of yors now in Clare Manor but forme rly lived at Sir Toby Point z, bee tells me yt. Captn . Pointz by ye help of a mille r bee then had, try'd ye level l betwi xt Point z pass and ye litle logh, and declar ed that a cutt of 8 foot deep in ye highe st place would bring water from ye logh to ye pass with ye help of an old trench yte was made by gener all Monck in ye warrs of 1641, and yt once in a great flood Charl es Illing worth attemp ted to convey away a small boat from Sir Tobyes logh, and tis thogh t yt if bee had not been discov ered would have made shift to gett it throgh ye glin bogg all the way to Newry.

I agree with yow in yor sentim ts that it were necess ary ye inhab itants joinin g on ye bogg shold be incour aged as well for their own advan tage as in order to ye public k good to make draine s and being inform ed yt alread y draine s were contin ued as high as Scarva gh bridg excep t 60 pchs. of Mr. St. John and 60 pchs. belong ing to anoth er I have writte n to Mr. Madden and have engage d ye other to gett his don if ye season or weath er hinde r not, and I questi on but in 3 years

2.

time it will be done all ye way to ye Newry by ye tents. and inhabitants for their own benefitt, for such as have already cutt draines find a considerable advantage by it.

I have

writt to Dr. Mathews at Newry and to Coll. Magenis with Mr. Crilly and Courtneyes assistance to prevaile on them to gett ye levell or fall taken by instrumts. from Sir Tobys to Newry.

And for ye rest nearer home wee can gett it easyer

don.

I conceave there's a much greater fall betwixt Pointz

pass and Newry than yow apprehend, and I beleeve it near 80 foot, for by ye ey it appears soe, if what I often hinted to yow in discourse be soe, vzt. yt ye sea at Carlingford and Colrane are near a levell, it followes (as I conceave) yt there must bee near ye same fall from Pointz moss to Carlingford as from ye same moss to Colrane and yt by reason of ye leap and other falls is considerable - discours som mathemat on this point.

Thus I bury my thoghtes for ye

publick good thogh I am sensible tis agt. my privat intrest and tis a great pt. of ye pleasure of it, that it engages yor correspondence.

All here are yors and return their a1'ft.

service to yow and lady.

My mother

I think mends •••.• "

1s Is I . rJ .\n..aJ2 ~ . p._._~c ro,~w owu i).6

1703 .

House of Commons Journal , Vol . III, p . 100 . (5 Nov . 1703) .

Newry Canal : __Brigadier Cunningham re ported from the Com ittee, appointed to bring in the heads of a bill for making a canal from Lough Neagh to Newry that they had come to several re solutions in the ma tter to tl1em referred .

1 . That it is practicab le to make a canal from Lou gh Neagh to Newry.

2 . That it is the oninion of the Com~ittee that £20 , 000 will mak~ said canal sufficient to carry lighte r s of 20 tons .

3 . That said Committee hath farther directed me to

re port t hat Capt. Francis Ne ville, Collector of Armagh, hath taken great pa ins in surveying and takibg the level of the gr ounds thr ough whi ch said canal may be made .

(Committee :

Hr . Maxwell Brigadier Cunningham Doctor Cogh ill

Major Clayton i-Ir . Montgomery

!.:r . Butle r .

1703 , Newr iensis , p . 172 .

It is in an early portion of the pro ceedings of this Parli ament that we find the first mention of anything r elat i ng to t he Newry Navigation . On the 26th November, 1703, it was resolved by the House of Commons that the sum of £200 should be pai d to Captain Francis Ne ville " for his extraordinary pains and service in viewing the gr ound and pl a ces for making a canal from Lough Neagh to Newry;_ and dr awing schemes conce rn ing t h e It is interest ing to find t his same , and atte nding this liouse " . subje ct att r a cti ng attention at such an early pe riod eve n though nothing de fi nite resulted . Capt ain Neville go t his £200, and leave fo r the intTo d.uction of a Bi ll on t he ma tter was given, but it does not appea r to have been pressed further , He r e t ake pl a ce some changes i n the re presentation of the town . In Febr ua ry , 1704 , Edward Bayly, Esq . of Plaseneywd, in Anglesea, was returned t o supply the pl a ce of Adam Swift,_ who had died in the pr e ceding Augus t . Again in July, 1707, Hans Hamilton, described as r esiding at Frankfort, County Ar magh, was elected in the room of Robert Echlin, de ce ased .

1703 .

Ashe ' s Survey of the Archbishopric of Armagh .

Tirrehuggan (Terryhoogan) .

"It is projected by Capt . Newell (Neville) to make the Bann Wate r navigable by running a cut t hrough part of Dromonargill from Knockbr idge and so to Hewr y . It is designed thr ough the Glann Bog and Lough Shark in that townland which is about 8 miles from Newry, the shorttest way, but the road is 10 miles. The Bann Water is but small at t he br idge .

b.

17 3.

House of Commons Jour nal , Vol. I II , p . 15'8 .

(26 iiov . 1703) .

Newr y Canal : Committee of opinion ti1at £20 , 000 is sufficient to :nake That said canal would be a canal from Lou,:;h Neagh t o Newry advantageous and in a sho r t time overpay the ex~ense .

Agreed ti1at a sum of £200 be _:aid to Capt . F. Nevill fo r his ext raordina r y pains and services in viewing gr ounds and places .

1709 .

House of Com~ons Journal, Vol . II, p. 529 .

£yr one Navigatio n .

A petition to the House of Com~ons had been drawn up

by Thomas Knox in 1709 to mak e a cut between Knockbridge and Fathom in Co . Down

Newry

CANAL .

Journal of Royal Society of Anti quaries of Ireland, Vol . XLI, p . 244 .

Castle has the honour of h aving designed the first stone lock in Ireland, t h at on t i1 e His only lit erary p roduction was Newry canal. an "Essay towards supplying the City of Dublin H e married 1 in with wate r , " published inl736 . a Lisburn lady, bu-c by 1733 , hiss Anne Truphet He resided no issue. had , her, 1vho died in 174-4 for many years in Dublin, first in Suffolk Street, and then in Proud ' s Lane, but i:l is d eath occurred 1vhile at Carton, on the even i ng of t h e 19th i1e i1ad r etired to Fe~ruaryi 1751.. After dinner write a etter 'GO the car p eni;er emp loyed at Leinster House , and a pp arently was s eized ,.Ji th a fit , as i1e was subsequently found dead in his He was about sixty y ea rs of age, and :1ad chair . long suffered from gout , th e resu lt of inte-.:perance .

Castle was laid to rest in Maynooth Church, but no stone marks the spot .

q 1729 .

Newri ensis , pp . 180- 182 .

In the l atter part of 1729, or the beginn ing of the follow ing yea r , the quest ion o~ formin g a . cana l from Lough Neagh to Newry which had for some time fallen into obscu rity was aga in brough t befo r e Parli~ ment . ~he merit s and impor tance' of the scheme were fully reco gnised . Finall y , in 1730 an Act autho risina its execu tion, passed through Parliamen f . The subjec t of inland navig ation engro ssed at this time a great deal of public attent ion· ' and of the numer ous pr ojec t s unde r consi derati o n , not one was r ega r ded as of more conseq uence than the Newry Cana l. The advan tages cont~mJ?la t ed from its for mat ion were two- fold - first , ~o. affor d. fa c i~i ties for the introd uction of foreig n com11oditie s ini;o the interi o r , and second ly , to convey coa ls frotn the Tyrone collie ries s t o Newry , and thenc e by sea to the othe r Irish po rts .

It is r ather melan choly to reflec t t ha t the latter branch of Irish indus try has been long since exting uished , and in its pl a ce we have an exten s i ve impor t trade of the same comruod ity .

The constr uc t ion of the Canal was push ed on withou t much de l ay . I t s course runs along the bound ary line of t he Count ies Down and Armagh , passin g by or near to Poynt zpass, Scarva , Tandr agee and Gilfo r d , unt il nea r Portad own it joins the Upper Bann , which contin ues the navig ation to Lough Neagh . At liewry , the Canal opened into the river opposi te the old Custom Hous e . It wa s ope ned for t r affic in 1 741.

I n the opinio n of the write r, it was probab ly about this pe r iod that the Green Bank and Rampa rt were constr ucted , confin ing the r ive r which previo usly spread ove r the entire valley to a res tr ic t ed chann el , and formin g the land thus reclai med into the now f r ui tful "Ma r sh ".

The f i rs t vesse ls to pass throug h the canal we r e two small ones named t he Cope and the Boult er , whi ch , in March , 1 741 , pr oceede d to Dublin with a cargo of coals . The forma tion of the c anal appea rs t o ha ve giv en a great impetu s to the pr ogress of the town . Unmis t akeab le s i gns of improvement presen t tnems elves on all sides . Fr om 1730 do,m l eases in pe r petuit y (or rather of the by ol d perpe tual l y r enewa ble t enur e) began t o be libe r ally grante d six of The old Ballyb ot Bridge (which t hen consis ted Mr . Nedham . ar ches) was soon found insuf fi cient for the p~blic accommodat ion , and a second one was a cco r dingly e r e cted . This was Sugar Island Br idge . I t was at first called Mur phy ' s Br i dge, and contai ned t hten e ar ches . Sho r tly aft er wa r ds a t hi rd br idge was constr uct ed on sit e of t he p resen t Dublin Bri dge .

1741.

Dublin Evening Gaze tte, Ma rch 27-30, 1741 .

Sun?ay evening last arr ived here the Cope of Lough Neagh, simple , master, with 50 tons of Irish coals from Newry, being the first shi n laden there since the new • canal was finished .

On he r corning int o t he harbour her guns we r e fired thereby givin g joyful notic e to t he inhabitants of this ci ty of our own kingdom ' s pr oduce i n her .

The coal s a re said t o be as good as any br ough t from England and they will come much cheape r, will not onl y reli eve t he consume r, but will also save vast sums of money annually carried out of the kingdom for that commodity .

Harris in his County Down ( p . 118 ), published 1744, records "Two small vessels, t he Boult er and t he Cope , passed t hrough Newry and so to Dublin loaded with coals , Ma rch 1741.

Hugh Boulter, Archbish op of Armagh , 1724 - 42 .

Robert Cope, M. P . for County Armagh. friend of Swift . Died 1753 .

A gr eat

\1 1744 .

Harris ' s Histo r y of County Down, pp . 112- 119 , Newr y Canal .

When great quantitie s of coals (some of which a re eaual , perhaps, to any sea coal imported into Dubl i n) were found in l ands bordering on Lough Neagh , it was a natural Benefit thought very w?rt~y of J?Ublick regard : and a ccordingly a plan was laid for br inging this coal by sea to Dublin, whe re the consumption of that sort of fuel is computed to cost £70 , 000 per annum . The most_probable method of effecting th i s was concluded to be by cutting a cnannel through the intermediate gr ounds between the rive r of Newry and t he great lake above named; whi ch will effectually answe r not only for the coal trade , but fo r all other busi ness that inland Naviga tio n c an promote through the greatest part of the No rth. This noble undertaki ng was ca rried on by Parli amentary encouragement , Ao 3d George II. A!LAl:.Lp~l,..Q for the Elli:.QID'a1rnment of 'l'.i.l.1./ill,..,_..alliL. t.ruU2eJi.t.e.~mplo vment of the £..cllu..;_..a nd al so for :th~_JJl.a.J::lLeJ.:!ac.il.i.aJ putting J.JL~11.t_:i.wLiill.....ru:t. to encourage th..<c dr ai ni n~ of Bogs and unprofitable low Grounds , &c .

By Vir tue of whi ch, and out of the duties arising from co a ches Berlins, Calashes, Chaises, and Chairs, as also fro ~ Cards and Dice, and manufa ctu r ed Gold and Silver Plate imported into or made in this Kingdom ; the Commissioners impowered to execute it began the Canal in 1 730 , and through many inter ruptions carried it on in this county beond Ho nallan, which is almost the extre:ne N. W. bounds of it, near two miles northward of Gilford .

If a s tr anger coasts it southward to Newry the follo,T,ing observ ations may occur to him as he pass es , Fifteen l ocks of di ffere nt denominati ons a re already fixed, and the bes t par t of the :u compleat ly finished , the whole extent taking up about 14 Irish miles from the lowest lock southward of Newr y to a li ttle Northward of Truman ' s Lo ck, whe re the Canal breaks off from the Rive r Bann nea r Knock- bridge . It ta kes a prett y equal c ourse between the two counties of Armagh and Down ; but t he gr ea te st pa rt of it seems to pa ss thr ou h the latter.

In cutting a new channel for c a rrying_on this wo r k, south of the pl a c e where the river Cushe r falls in , at Straml;ore nea r lfonallen a forrest wa s discovered, or a great multituae of fallen tr ees of ' oak , ash , alder , &c . lying fo r ne~r a mil~ in l~n gt h , unde r a cove r ing of ea rt h in some pla ces six in otners eighc fee t _ deen , many of them of large bulk, t umbl~d down one ove r another , some ' lying in strait lines , and others in an oblique or transverse Discoveries of this kind are very f requent in Ireland , siti n ~~d th~r~ a r e few bogs in it, but what afford_plenty oE_ va ri ous so rts of ti:nber burie d in them. deeper or shallower in propo r,,ion as the loose and spungy earth lies so; For all such that 1-1e have observed

1-Z...

1744 .

Newry Cana l

(con t ' d) .

· , ,.,. 1· th Body . of. Harlt e ' Clav• or Grav el , It ,..1ou ld b e vain a on lie t e vulg lain here . a r OJ?ln ion , o supp ose, that thes e trees have : hath since tne univ ersa l delu ge; for th ough the Soil of a turfs bog bodie intir e been ~ema rked for a wond erful qual ity of pres ervin g rpor ated with ~any year s, by mean s of t h e bitumen or suloh ur inco textu re of us i~; yet it c':1nnot be well imag ined , that the poro ly foun d timb er _esp ecial ~y of birch and alde r, whic h are freq uent ens so buri ed , coul o rema in solid and intir e a s it often haoo s . -if t;ee s afte r a perio d of betw een four and five thou sand year lie in one thu~ ~oun d were felle d by the delug e , they woul d all aone ars · rary posi tion i wher eas the insta nce befo re us the contax , ~r Eiem on none of them woul d be found with the mark of the there fore seek We must in part burn ed, as is often the case , and they for mo re solid caus es of these subte rrane ous woods ,; whic h is the seem to be more than one . Firs t , want of indu stry J caus e of bogs ; for i f a grea t acce ss of wate r eithe r , fro ardly be by sprin gs inwa rdly, or from rive rs or strea ms outw a bog lazin ess or negl igen ce stopp ed , this natu rally caus es done in being by softe ning and loos enin g the earth ; and that trees are left cour se of time to the depth of the root s, the this is and s; subj ect to be over turne d by the viole nce of storm adhe ring t he case wher e tree s are found in bogs with the roots by thei r must ce surfa Tree s thus falli ng upon the soft to them . and this own grav it y nece ssar ily make a bed in the yield ingthesoil; gs and sprin of again caus es a furth er stopp ag e in the cour se loose earth st re ams , and cons eque ntly incre ases and swel ls theweed s . Add to and by a yea r ly acce ssion of scru ff, moss , gr ass lved by this caus e, that the high er land s being grad ually disso cour se of re peate d rain s, and wash ed do1-m by flood s, in a long h rth; time cove r the lowe r gr ound s wi t h many laye rs of ea Natu rofal whic t he Writ e rs (Plo t ' s Staf ford shire , Ch . 3 , p , 113) uponin stanc es .

Hist ory have furn ished us wit h seve ral unde ni able, or twelv e This then bein g ea rt h to the depth of eigh t, tentime a r rivin g i n feet . Seco ndly , vario us colo nies from time to is not unna tural this form e rly uncu ltiva ted and woody islan d, it in making r oom to im ag ine that thei r fi rst indu stry was employed for rest s , grea for tilla g~ and past ure by clea ring the ground of thist prac t ic e whic h we r e then an incum bra nce to the coun try; And early time s appe ars f rom many in stan ce s in t he hi stori es of thee d to plain s ar e of this kingdom the names of whic h f orre sts reduc d, ye t p re se rve d , 'Thu s , wher e in bogs we find treesmayinwepal rl t.imburne ine ag and othe rs with the mark s of t he axon them , we of some of urs labo t hese c i rcum stanc es to have happ ened f rom the well as work , were those colo nies who being oblig ed t o figh t as s often re pe lled ' by th e invad ed nativ es, and drive n fr om t he place

1744 .

Ne,Ty Canal

( cont ' d) .

whe r e they intended to make the ir settleme nts ; and trees being thus left fe l led and scattere d over the face of the plai n might have caused the stoppage of water before mentione d and conseque ntly in t i me have created a deep bog coveri n" the sa i d t r e~s to a consi~er able depth . We are told of bogs lately formed i~ lreland ; particul arly that in the yea r 1601 , when Tirone and 0 Donnel marched to the Reli ef of ~insale through Conaught , ( which by means of the Earl of Clanric c a r d continued for the most pa r t loya l ) they l aid the count ry waste , and that there is a great tra ct of ~r ound , now a bog , which was then plowed land , and that a mansion house of a nobleman is to be seen in the mi dst of it .

On each side of To p r o c e ed wi th the course of the canal . i t i n sever a l pl a c es a re back waters, brooks or loughs , which may be eithe r admi tted i nto or excluded from it , as occasion requi r es .

The l ocks are 15 f eet 6 i nches wide , and 44 fee t long , except thr ee, wh i ch va r y a li tt l e f r om these dimensio ns ; but they ar e of an unequa l depth , acco r ding to the situation of the ground , some being 1 2 , and othe r s 13 feet and a half de ep .

Betwe en Point z • s Pass and Teryhoga n a rivul et f r om a bog f all s into the canal , call ed in Irish Ellen-Money , or the wonde r fu l bog , f r om the nature of its cur rent , that i m~ediat ely on i ts ri sing sepa r ates i nto two branch es , whi ch take a no r therly and sout he r ly cour se; one branch running towards Lough - Neagh , and t he Betwe en these pl aces lies the highest other towa r ds Newry . gr ound of t he who l e c anal ; where by means of two l ocks t he wat er is f orc i bly retained on a l evel for nea r t hr ee miles . We r e it not fo r t h is c ontri vanc e , as the course of the wat e r s i ncline no rth and south , the i ntermedi at e space would be l eft dr y . Lough Sha r k , Lough- Dian , and Lough- Br i ckl an li e east of th: canal almost opposite to Ac t on , the two forme r near the banks of i t , and t he l atter al mo st t wo miles di stant fr om th e othe r s . I t i s sa i d t he r e is a subt e r r aneous communi cation between the th r ee lakes, by whi ch means the water of them all may be applied to feed the canal ; at l east the wat e r of Lough- Shar k is int ended t o be br ought into it by a t r unk or ot her pr ope r conve yanc eA the cana~ running nigh the edge of it . This lake cove r s about bO plantatio n acres , and is th r ee fa t hom deep and at the dries t season can emit a soli d foo t of wate r . Lough - Di an is of some t hing a small er si ze; but Lough - Bric klan e xceeds t he fi rst, a s cove r ing t en a cres mo re .

The Canal i s ca rried on t hr ough va r i ous soil s , such as gr avel , bl ew clay bog and in some pl aces ma r le . At Tr uman ' s lock , whic h is t he reJ10te st l ock no rt hwa r d , i t is 42 f ee t br oad , in oth er

1744.

J 4.

Ne11r y Cana l ( cont I d) . plac es som:1thing les s . The who le cour se of i t is extr eme lysitua ted pl easa n! eith er to ride or walk on , some pa rt of it being woods by among f~ne l awhs , and ?the r inte r spers ed and enliv ened many h and vari ety of plan tatio ns , among circ li ng hills , whic ofform Gilf ord , natu r al and be autif ul terra sses . From Mon allen , north e able t o Tusc an Pass abou t t hr ee mile s from Newry seve ral agre scat terprosp e ct s of wood and wate r pre sent t hemse lves with some li ttle ing hous es, pret ty i mp r ovements , smal l villa ge; , and t. he From Tusc an town of Act on , south of Geor ge • s isla nd , in full view try there Pa ss to N:wr y it is not plea sing to t he eye , th e coun the soli d broad abou ts bein g more open , nake d, and unimo roved · yet r he re make bank s to take the ai r on , and the exub er ance bf r wate , som e comp ensa tion for t he absen ce of ot he r natu al beau tie; wa r d of The Rive r Cu sher falls into the cana l a lit tle north idera ble cons a it Knock- bridg e, nea r Trum an ' s Lock , and brin gs with and choa k up the quan tity of sand , whic h in time may much incu,abe r h a new cut navi gatio n betw een that and Port adown; t o r emedy whicof the said ward is inten ded to be dr awn throu gh a re d bog northsmal ms empt y strea l loc k . From the Cush er Rive r to Newry s ever al ward of the themse lves int o t he Cana l , wh ich at some dis t ance north a ce, one in ds town is dr awn into Newry Rive r for about 400 ya r ry to forsaplke this and 140 in anot her . When it was th ough t ne cessa suff icien t rive r they secu red it by wear s, in orde r to retai n s a are in quan tity of wate r t o supp ly the cana l. Thes e weare they fixed be gan to wo oden fr am es, and mad e oppo site to th e pl a ce wher two cut the cana l again ; and t he se two pl a ce s are t heto only cana l. From the eful obse rvab l e ones wher e the Newr y wate r is us e then ce the a rti f icia l lock s are carr ied unti l you pass t he bridg of t he to,m .

The lock s are faced with a hard gritt y stone conve yed r byBlack t he rive wate r fr om Benb urb, i n the coun ty of Arma gh, down , and from wate r to Loug h - Neag h , and so t hroug h a pa rt of that lake at t he ded ar bo t henc e by Port adown int o t he cana l . They are allof them next to botto m with deal plan ks two inch es t hi ck . Some nch; and the rest Newry are alrea dy pitch ed to rend er them stasea south of the bri dg e inten ded to be so done . The lock next t he out the ti de as of Ne wry is c ontri ved eith er t o rece ive or shut Bri , op posi te occa sion may requ ired . That next to Made nebo ny yar dge ds , and take s _ red to Gilf ord has a leve l to fill up of a hund over the cill near 28 mi ~ute s to fill it so as to brin g the vessfelill, and take s of the flood - gate . The ne~t h~s abou t 18 ya r ds toabou t twelv e l of nine minut es to do it . The third has a leve these of Each . tes ya rds to fill, whic h is comp assed in seven minu of lock s r ais es t he boat s abou t two feet above the natu ral leve l the cana l as it lies below t he lock .

/ 7.

1744 .

Newry Cana l ( cont I d) .

Seve ral brea ches have been made in the Cana l by the wint erand are re paire d; floo ds, wher e the soil is loos e or bogg y, which with lime and the workmen have been ob:j.i ged to face t he bank s dent s . stone , or sods , the bett er to forti fy them agai nst such acci the ~rea test It is obse rvab le that in one of the lock s wher e are fixed !all. of wate r is, viz . at Poin tz • s Pass , the sluic es wall s,n~tsome in tne floo d gate s, as in the rest , but in the sideof wate r space from the gate s, in orde r to brea k the force boat s, as falli n g from too grea t a he i ght upon the head s ofarthe p retty near ged they pass ; the Hate r for that purp ose being disch ist all of t~e botto m of the lock . The brid qes on the cana l cons two) all has sing le arch es (exce pt th a t at Sc a rv agh Pass which s ; and as the neat ly finis hed, as are also those on the b;ck drain open ings a re boat s.pa s.s thr ough them they lowe r thei r mast s. Some r , if at any m~de ~n tne Bank s of the Cana l to let out the wate s are p re yard time it pro'l es redu ndan t . Store - hous es and coal r ly at and near parin g to fit plac es near the bank s of it, part icula . of Scar vagh , the bett er to answ er the desig ns there a In many plac es the cana l is carr ied in a dire ct lineTwoforsmal l s. cons idera ble spac e; in othe rs it form s seve ral angle gh it to Newry vess els calle d the Boul ter and the Cope pass ed throuThe latte r named and so to Dubl in l oade d with coal s i n !,,a rch 1741 .

Amor of thes e vess els has this mott o pain ted on the stern , Vinc et Pa tri£13 . ution of thi s The bene fit arisi ng to the kingdom from the exec e will be scheme will be very cons idera ble , as a thoro ugh tradthe ties of carr ied on by inlan d navi gatio n betw een Dubl in and goodcoun s and Armagh , D01-m , Antr im , and Tiro ne, for all kind s of the on s r part manu fa cture s; besid es that Dubl i n and all othewitn firin g at a very easte rn and south ern coas ts will be supp lied from the coll iereasy rate ; whil e othe r part s can be easi ly serve d purp ose has been this ies at Ball ycas tle , wher e a safe ha rbou r for coll ierie s ,,ill save a made with suru rizin g expe ditio n . Both these sin~~ e a r ticle prod igiou s sum of money year ly to the nati? n inis t~e inten dea to be of firin g . And this inlan d navi gatio n ( which othe r part s of in carr ied on throu gh the Shan non and othe r rive rs t e d sole ly by the kingd om by the bene fit of the same act) is byexecu the rich , who are a tax unon luxu r y · the dutie s being only pa id through the natio n well abie to spa r ~ them , whic h again circu latesurers , grea t numbe r s f r om the hand s of the artif icer s and poor labo re . One adva ?tage of whom are empl oyed in unde rtaki ngs of this n~tupass over , wlnch co more from this inlan d navi gatio n we ough t not are for this end cut is, that by the broa d and deep chan nels w!1ich

J 6.

171t4 .

Newr ? Canal (cont ' d) . throut;h t he mo i st and loH grounds , gr ea t quant ities of land will be hereby effectu ally recl aimed and recover ed to t he nation ; t he benefi t of uhi ch would otherw ise be lost . Add t o t hese benefit s t he fixed and re a sonable pr ice, whi ch fo rei gn coals have been at in the uinter sea so n, since this scheme has had a prospec t of_ succes s , th ough small quanti ties only have been yet i ~po rted into Dublin by this new conveya nce .

1748-1767 .

Newriensis, pp .187-188 . _Shortly after the assembling of Parliament a Committee was ~~point ed by the House of Commo ns to inquire how the sum of ~ ,~oo , _granted to Mr . Nedham in the session of 1755 , for the Naviga tion, had been expended . The Com mittee reported that the money had been properly app~ied, and, moreove r, that Hr. Nedham had spent £616 6s , 5d . of his o,m rn the executi on of the works .

A motion to reimburse him this sum was brough t forward but was negatived on a division , so Mr . Nedham must have b;en at the loss himself .

The Canal appea r s to have been a constant source of outlay t '? the nation . Large sums were frequently applied for, and liberally gr anted . It is quite evident, h01•1ever , that it was as much for the purpose of serving Dublin as the country through which the canal pa ssed, that this was done . One of the great advanta~es expected in keeping up the navigation was t o have coals sold in Dublin at 12s , 6d . per ton .

The Parliamenta r y Journals are filled with notices of Pe titio ns, Ap pointments of Committees, Reports , &c ., on this subject , whi ch the writer may be well spa red from infli cting on his readers . However , some statistics a re incidentall y given which t h row considerabl e light on the nature and extent of the trade of Ne wry . It is stated that 60 tons of oatmeal, and lar ge quantities of flour and other provisions , were conveyed weekly from Newry to Lough Neagh . 12,000 tons of merchandise annually passed through the Navigation, not inc luding immense quantities of linen clo~h, Tyrone coal, limestone, and other products of the country, wtnch were carried toll free . From 1748 to t he 1st Novembe r, 1767, 1758 vessels of from 20 to 50 tons burthen , navigated the Canal to Lough Neagh , upon whose cargoes the sum of £1 , 841 19s . lld . was pa i d as toll . In t he year ending the 1st Novem?e: , 17~7, ther: were exported 1082 packs , and 1151 boxes? cont ~ining 1 28 ,133 pi~ces of linen cloth, which , valued at the medium price of 50s . per piece, amount ed to upwa rds of £300,000 .

1755 . :louse of Commons Journal, Vol. L C, p . 376 . (6 Novembe r, 1755 ) . lfowr y C;;;nal : Resolv e d by above Committee that it would be greatly to tne advantage of the public that the river o iiewry be mcide navigable from the end of the new canal and the customs house quay . . lso r esolved that the sum of £4 , ooo will be necessary to co~plete the above .

1751.

25 Geo r ge II, Chap . X. Whe re a s a c ana l ha t h in gre at par t been mad e, and is now carr yi ng on, in and thr ough seve r al parts of_ t he counties of Down, Armagh and Ty r one and seve r al 1 disputes are de pending and unse ttled be twee n the commi ssi one rs or may arise between t he corpo r at i on hereby created and the pr op rietors of lands t hr oug h wh ich t he c anal hath already been made or may here after be made, etc .

1755 .

House of Commons Journal , Vo l . IX, p . 328 . ( 28 October , 1755) .

Newry Canal : A petition of the merchants of Newry on behalf of them selves and others who r eside on and nea r the banks of the inland navigation , setting forth that the pe tit i oners are grea t ly delayed and distressed in their trade by reason of the shallowness , nar rowness and crookedness of the channel of Newry for about 2 miles below the quay, which seems to grow shallower year ly so th at no vessel of 20 tons burthen , except lighte r s , can safely come to the quay .

(Ordered that a Committee meet t o exami ne the petition) .

11.

1755 .

Newriensis , p . 183 .

Par liament kept a very watchful eye on the navigation, but notwithstan ding thi s it became obstructed by accumulations of mud and sand in the river . In November , 1755, the me rc hants of the town presented a petition, in which they comp l a ined t hat they we re greatly delayed and distressed in their trade by the sha llO\mess , narrowness, and crookedness of the channel of the river for about two mi l es below the quay, which seemed to the m to grow shallowe r every year , so that no vessels of twenty tons burthen except lighte rs could come safely to the quay .

The Hous e of Commons immediately appointed a Committee to conside r this petition , which , after a short interval , reported that the petitioners had fully prov ed their allegations , and that it would be gr eatly to the public advantage to ma ke the river navigable from the end of the canal and the Custom- house quay, fo r wh ich pur pose the sum of £4 , 000 would be necessary .

2Z 1755 .

29 Geo r ge II, Chap . 2.

£1 , 000 to Robe rt Needham , Esq . towards making the riv er of Newry navigab le f rom t he end of the new canal to the and the cus tom house quay to the sea .

1756 .

Wesley ' s Journ al .

Wednesday , July 21, 1756 , In the mo rning there was such violent lightning , thunder and r ain, that the very beasts r an out of the fields, and the birds flew f r om their usual coverts, to t ake shelter in the house; but before we took horse the sky cleared and we had a pleasant ride to Terryhugan, nea r Scarva . The r oad lay on the edge of a smooth canal with f r uitful gently rising hills on either side.

Journey from Newry to Belfast .

1758 .

Wesley Journal .

Monday , 8 May.

I rode to Newry .

We r ode by the side of the Tuesday, 9 May , 1758 . c ana l, through a pleasant vale to Terryhugan .

1759.

Journa l of the House of Commons, Gao. II, p.243.

(Vol. XI).

Anf Atcchompt of th e Four thousan d pounds granted by Parliam ent e use of the Naviga tion at Newry. or

1758.

December 5.

1759.

Februa ry.

Mr. Ned~am perfec ted a letter of attorne y, impowe ring Mr. Samuel Waring to recei ve the same from the Treasu ry, to be paid over from time to time for the use of the navigat ion.

Mr. Waring sent the letter of attorne y to Mr. Mitche ll, praying him to receive the money from Mr. Clemen ts, and to send Mr. Waring his accoun table receip t for ' the same.

Mr. Mitche ll receive d three thousan d eight hundred and eighty pounds , one hundred and twenty pounds being deducte d at the Treasur y for fees.

April 25.

Mr. John Golborn e, the enginee r from Cheste r, came over, and went immedi ately to work.

Paymen ts made to Mr . Golborn e on accoun t.

£

s. d.

Mr. Mitche ll's accoun table receipt to 3880 0 0 Mr. Waring ll Mr. Waring 's draugh t on Mr. Mitche April 25. to Mr. Golborn e ~26" 0 - 0 1 16 4 To ditto on ditto to ditto June 18.

1 8 270 ditto to ditto To ditto on July 9. ditto 54 3 4 To ditto on ditto to 1~.

54 3 4 To ditto on ditto to ditto l • 360 0 0 To ditto on ditto to ditto August 4.

8 132 To ditto on ditto to ditto 21.

8 108 September 8. To ditto on ditto to ditto 6 8 108 18. To ditto on ditto to ditto 24. To ditto on ditto to ditto •• 103 11 9 l08 6 8 October 16. To ditto on ditto to ditto 1841 11 l Total paymen ts

... ...

g

2038 8 11 Ballanc e remaini ng in Mr. Mitche ll's Bank.

Mote, Mr. Nedham covena nts with Mr. Golborn e to pay him four were thousan d pounds English to comple at the workJ though there of out ent, only four thousan d pounds Irish granted him oy Parliam which a deducti on of one hundred and twenty pounds was made at the Treasury for fees.

1759, Journ al of the House of Commons, Geo. II, pp,22 1-222 , Newry Cana l:

(Vol. XI).

Your Comm ittee first enqui red into the appli catio n of rtthe sum of four thous and pound s grant ed by Parli amen t to Robefrom Nedham, Esq; towar ds making the river of Newry na~ig able sea· th~ the end of the new canal and the custo m-ho use quaym toRobe rt ' and your Comm ittee find that the said Robe rt Nedha of Parki nson, and Berna rd Ward, Esqu ires, on the fourt ~enth ed wledg ackno Febru ary, one thous and seven hundr ed and fifty six, princ ipal a recog nizan ce in his Maje sty's Court of Exche quer the four in a sum of eight -thou sand pound s, and the secur ity in work, and thous and pound s each, cond itione d to perfo rm the saidles to accou nt. Your Comm ittee find, that inden ted artic thewere one execu ted in Engla nd, betwe en the said Robe rt Nedham of , part, and John Golbo rne of Ches ter, engin eer of the other ed beari ng date the fifth of December one thous and seven hundr derat and fifty eigh t, where by the said John Golbo rne, in consihim byion of the sum of four thous and pound s, agree d to be paid r tothere in the said Robe rt Ned.ham, at the times and in the manne of March menti oned, coven anted , withi n two years , from the first works ensui ng the date of said inden ture, to execu te the sever ala Plan there in ment ioned , upon the river of Newry, accor ding to there unto annex ed.

Mr, Samu el Heatl y laid befor e your Comm ittee, a paper entit led, an accou nt of the four thous and pound s, grant ed by it parlia ment for the use of the navig ation at Newry; by which appea rs that the said Robe rt Nedham, by lette r of attor ney, empowered Mr. Samuel Waring to recei ve said sum from theation , navig treas ury, to be paid over for the use of the said who recei ved hell, Mitc Henry Mr. That Mr, Warin g sent the same to And it appea red by said accou nt, said sum from the treas ury, hundr ed and that sever al sums to the amount of one thous and eight been paid by had , forty one pound s eleve n shill ings and one penny a Mr. Mitc hell to the order s of said John Golbo rne, and that ings shill eight s pound balla nce of two thous and and thirt y eight any, Comp and and eleve n-pen ce, now remai ns in the bank of Mitch ell more As by said paper hereu nto annex ed, and marked (No.l ) may ing touch ined, fully appea r. And Mr. Samuel Heatl y being exam said paper , decla red, he belie ved the sever al parti cular s there in menti oned were true.

Your Comm ittee was inform ed, that the said John Golbo rne not and James Golbo rne his broth er, resid ed in Engla nd, and could been made get any infor matio n conce rning the progr ess which hadthere in, But in the said work from any perso n that was conce rned curio sity, Mr. Thomas Omer being exam ined, said, he went out of

1759.

Journal of the House of Commons -

Newry Canal.

in October last, to see the works between Newry and the sea.

That he observed they had sunk a canal of about four feet deep, and forty feet wide, from opposite to the custom-hous e in Newry to near fathom point, which is about a mile. That said canal must be sunk about six f eet deeper. That he believed about two thirds of the sea bank is finished, and that about one thousand five hundred pounds have been expended in the whole. That when the work is compleated, it will connect the great Newry canal with the sea, and believes it will be of publick advantage. But he said, the Newry merchants make objections to the work, because it will be necessary to daJDin up the present passage; and they apprehend that the new passage may be choaked up by the shifting of the sand.

1758.

Journal of the House of Commons, Geo, II, Vol, X, pp,579-580, Newry Canal1

J

petition of the corporat ion for promotin g and carrying on an i and navigati on in Ireland, was presente d to the House and read; sett;ng forth, that the only funl.gran ted by parliame nt, for promotin g and carrying on inland navigatio n at large is the tax on carriage s, on wro~ht plate, and on cards and die~, am?untin g to about six thousand pounds a year; all other grants ~ing appropri ated to particul ar rivers or canals; that for nineteen years this fund was applied solely to the works on the great canal from Newry to the Tyrone collierie s, during which time there were usually savings upon it, That the savings in the course of so many years, amountin g to a large sum, the corporat ion thought it their duty, though this canal was not, nor is yet finished , to engage in other works on the rivers Boyne and Shannon, hoping that these with the current produce of the fund, would enable them to bear the expences of all, which till now they have accordin gly done, That at their last quarterly meeting, February the sixth, when the state of their affairs is usually taken into consider ation, they found that all former savings, and with them the income of the last year, were almost exhauste d, so that there remains in the treasury only the sum of three th ousand six hundred and seventy one pounds six shillings and nine pence three farthing s, which sum they fear will not more than answer many debts out for material s, and to workmen. That under those circumst ances, they find it will be impossib le to carry on those works; it appearing by their warrants on the treasury , that the money ordered for them the last session, which they are well satisfied , has been duly applied, amounted to sixteen thousand eight hundred and ninety eight pounds four shillings and eight pence: And knowing the present state of the works to be such, that should the coming season prove as favourab le as the last, the same great expence will be necessar y for vi!J)rrusl y pushing them on; that a stop to the se works or a languid carrying them on for one or two seasons, will in their opinion, be very detrimen tal to the nation, both as it will retard the executio n of a scheme so very benefici al to it, and as these works being in many places unfinishe d, will moulder and decay, so as that great part of the money already expended , will inevitab ly be lost, and praying the House to take the case into consider ation, and to do thereon as to the House shall seem meet.

Newriensis, pp . 185- 186 .

The plan adopted for comp l eting the Navigation was to length en t '.1e Cana l from t he Custom Hou se quay on to Fa t hom , a dis tan ce of t wo miles . This addition was comp leted in 1761.

Since that time t he a ccumulation of mud in t he river ha s gone on steadily , ren de r ing it an exceed ing ly disagreeable obje ct at lo w water .

House of Comnons Journal, Vol. JCII , p . 893 ,

(17 April, 1762) .

Newry C::inal : A motion made that 12 , 000 be ~ranted to the Cornoration for ;-ro1,1oting 8nc1 c3rryinF, on inland navigation in Ireland towards uaking the canal from iathom point below Hewry to Drumc;lass collieries navig:,ble for ships of 100 tons pursuant to plan approved by this house last session of Parliament .

Ibid , p . 893 .

15 "'arch , 1756 . Relative to state of said collieries and c~nals to sea and as re gards 4,ooo granted to Robert Needha.n, Esq . for akin - the river of rewry navigable .

1763 .

December 10, 1763 . Lodged a Tillage Warrant for £600 with Mr . Clements for whi ch he gave me an a cc ountable r e ceipt, the money to be applied i n aid of Portado,m Bri dg e by order of the Navi ga ti on Board . Mr . Myers di rector of the above said work £300 to r eimburse hi!Il fo r money expended .

From Brownlow Acc ount Book which carries a sec ond entry unde r date May 13 , 1765 - received f r om Naviga ti on Boar d £503 , 7 . 9½ for Port adown Bridge .

3 2._ 1771.

11 Geor ge III, Chap . 4. £8 ,000 to naviga tion boa r d to be by them exp ended i n making a commu nicatio n f rom Dromgl ass Collier y in the County of Tyrone to the head of t h e Newry navi gation , commonl y called t he bason .

17 71- 177c. .

11 and le. George III , C. l .

Newry Canal : The sum of £1, 500 to the Corporation for pro~otine and _ carrying on an inland navigat ion in Ireland towards co'nple ting t he navi gat ion from Newry to Drumglass colliery in the county of Tyrone .

1776- 1778 .

Young ' s Tour of Ireland, Vol . II , p . 201; second edition, published 1780 .

An account of money gr anted for publ ic wo r ks bv Parliament, or the Nav i gation Board from 1753 to l7b7 inclusive . (Common s J ournal, Vol. XIV, p . 485) .

Newry River £9,000 .

Dromglas Colliery and Na vi gation £112 , 218 .

Lagan Rive r £40,304 .

1778 .

Newriensis, pp . 193- 194 .

In the year 1778 a proposition to utilize convict labour on the public works was before the Legislature . A petition was presented by some of the merchants and traders of Newry, pr aying that if the scheme were carried into effect part of the convicts mi ght be employed on the canal , which stood in need of improvement .

A week after a counter petition was presented, which stated the petitione rs had hea r d with astonishment of the previous one; that they believed the convicts, if employed in the manner reque sted , would be rescued and set lo ose on the country, as there was a violent disposition to riot and insurre ction in t he neighbourhood, and none of the military were stationed in or nea r Newry . This is not a comp liment a ry picture, but it me rely shows that the di strict sha re d in the dissatisfied and disturbed state of feeling which pr evailed throughout Ireland during the le gislat ive and commercial disputes with England .

1787 . ?;ewrie nsis , p . 195 . _O n the 1st Februar y, 1787, a pet ition was pr esented to Pa rli ament f rom the mercha nts, traders , and inhabit ants of Newr y , winch shows that the ideas of the people were be coming expande d by prospe rity , and that they were not content to follow alto gether in the footste ps of their fat hers . The matters co:nplai ned of in the petitio n were numerou s . Amongst the m were the want of proper r e gulatio ns for cars and cart s , for coa l measu rers an d coal porters , in t he mar ket f or bread , meat, and ot her article s, for keeping the streets cl ear and f ree froffi r ubblish and obstruc tions, and preven ting swine fro m e; oi ng at large, and also the excessi ve price of coal sold i n small ouantit ies to the poor . Host of t hese inconve nience s ar ose f r om the want of Eunicip al Governm ent, the benefit s of which the town had not enjoyed since the destruc tion of the J acobite Cor po r ation .

Some of the functio ns usually belongi ng to Town Co un cils were exercis ed by the Paroch ial Vestry and Ma nor Court, but i n an i mperfe ct and ineffic ient manne r .

1788 .

The Comp lete Irish Trav eller, Vol . II, pp . 192-1 93 , pub . 1788 in London .

We now haste ned to Newr y from wh ence t he canal passe s north wards about fourte en miles when it joi ns t he River Bann not far from Lurga n in the count y of Armagh . It was be gun in 1730 and finish ed in 1741 .

In many place s it is carr i ed in a di rect line fo r a consi derab le spa ce : in other s it forms sever al angle s . Ith t alces a prett y equa l cours e betwe en the coun ties of Armag and Down, but t he great e st pa rt of it seems to pa ss thr ough the latte r .

(Rema ins of a for e st found in cutti ng the cha nnel south of t he pl ace whe re t he river Cushe r falls in at Stram ore ne ar Moya llen) .

Betwe en Poynt zpas s and Terry hooga n a rivul e t from a bog falls into the canal , calle d in Irish Ellem oney or the wonde r ful bog , from t he natur e of its curre nt, one branc hthe Betwe en t hese ol aces lie r unnin g towar ds Lough Neagh . highe st gr ound of the whole cana l , whe re by the means ofof two locks the water is forci bly retain ed for a l evel 3 miles; were it not for this contri vance as the cours e ceof t he water s inclin e north and south the inter media te spa would be left dr y .

1793, 33 Geor ge III , Chap . 10 .

Newr y Navi gatio n: An a ct for conf irmi ng , ame nding and enlar ging the powe r s ve sted i n the Corp ora tion for prom otin : and ca rryi ng on t he Newry Navi gat ion . -

1800 .

Newri en sis , p . 200 .

In this t he l as t Sessio n of the Iris'.l Parli ament two Acts we re pa s sed having refer enc e to our town . The first dissol ve d t he Local Commis sione rs for the 1-.anagement of the Navi ga tion , and tra nsferr ed t he superv ision of the Canal to cert ain pe rsons to be appoin ted by t h e Lord Li eutena nt , st·led the Di r ectors Gener al of Inl and Naviga t ion .

Under the contro l of t he former it had b e en ver: much neglec ted . Twenty - one were necess ary to form a board , and th is number it was found ve r y diffi cult to ass embl e .

1804.

Coote ' s Statist ical Survey of Count y Armagh, pp . 106 - 111.

Newr y Canal : The obs tru cti ons , which were e bcounte r ed on the Newry river f r o:n that town to the sea, we r e so nu.:ae r ous, and i nvincib le by other means, as to oc casion t he adoptio n of the o r esent navigat ion; fo r, ori gi nally, this river could not bea r boats, but of wry smal l burthen , and only at high wate r, as the tide flowed up to the town . The wor k was conside red to be a nationa l benefi t, if extende d to Lough - Nea gh , and t here to admit the boa ts f r om the Tyrone collier ies, and that t he coal, brought f r om t henc e to Ne wry, could be dispat ched coastwa ys to many par ts of Ireland , whi ch would keep at home the i mmensit y of spec i e paid for fo rei gn coals .

The work was entirel y comple ted by pa r liament a ry gr ants , and pla ced under th e cont roul of a Boa r d , but there ha s lat el y been made a con side r able chang e in its form and government . The ori ginal board cons isted of t we nt y- one members , and nothing could be determi ned without t he ir consent . The nobleme n of the countie s of Arma gh , Tyrone, and Down, and the coun ty re present atives had each a vote, but t he consequ e nce was, tha t t he busines s wa s greatly neglect ed, as they found it diff icult to bring so many gentlemen togethe r , a s would make a boa r d ; if casual repairs were require d , th ey of course could not be amended, and the navi r ati on was for long periods i mp eded, and re ndere d so un cert ain , that t he great t r ad e f r om Newry , which was formerl y carried on this line wi t h t h e countie s borderi ng Lough - Nea gh , has been transfe rred t o Belfast , which ba s wonder fully rivalle d Newry of l a te yea rs, and dep r i ve d this t01m of many branche s of her tr ad e .

If in consequ ence of the neglect of a necessa ry expend iture of money, for long periods , the works we re gr ea tly injure d , yet the small tolls , which were yielded in pa rticula r pl aces , that still rema ined navigab le , were husband ed with gre a t ca re and managem ent by the Rev . Doctor Campbel l, of Newry, who wa s secreta ry to t he board, and t he savings amounte d to no less than £5 , 000 in hand , whe n_ that gentlem an lately r esigned .

Since t h e new establis hment has been adopted , this sum , t ogether with a l a r ge gr ant from the gene r al navi gation board , has been expende d in some materia l repai r s and improvement s .

The board of t wenty - one is now abo l ished , and the ma na gement of all affairs , rela t ing to the canal , is vest ed in conduc tors , who must be residen t merchan ts in Newry , and na tur ally a re interes ted in the prosper ity of the trade of the to,m; f ive of t hes e constit ute a boa r d , they recomme n d wh at they think necessa r y to be done , and communi cate their opinion s to t he gene r al

l o04 , Coote's Statistica l s urvey of County Armagh, pp , 106-111. (cont' d) . navi ga tion board, who order them t 0 b e adopted or rejected at their discretion .

The a nnual tolls no11 amount b t O £2 , 500 but formerly we re treble ·' . d this sum an d lately , consi era ly less; for one boat ,,hicb now , , . ~;~:~~n~b~~ ~ 1 i::~t~rh~~ ght yeathrs ta go perhaps ~en _or fifteen· were in e rade is again i mp r oving .

1ever, , L~mesto9e , sand, lime, and all manures, ar e toll free no . inco nside:ab~e enc ouragement to ag ric ultura l i mp rovements .' Ti mber is freed int o the c anal , but pays a small toll in its pa ssage~ ' · other goods p ay a fee of ent r ance .

The na vi ga tion is now greatly i mp roved from the town t o the sea, but the n ew locks, which have been lately built a r e too narrow by three fee~, being on~y twe nty-two in the clear; the y onl y require that alteration , to admi t l arge vesse l s to come up which now unlade at Warren po int, six miles from Newr y ; lighters take in t he ir cargoes, and enter the can al at Fat hom .

For two years past, the works have been under a general re pair ' line is now well supplie d with water . The Cu shier river the and stone, cut of l, ne tun ~ill imme diate ly be let in,-and a trough or is now building near the noted burial pla ce of Ballynaback ; Lough brickland and Lough - shark waters already sup ply it .

The whole length of this navigation fro m the junct i on with - water at Fathom to the town of fiewry, is fou r mi les ; from tide the thence to Lough- Neagh twenty - seven miles, in toto thirt y- one Irish miles , Its advantages are common to the whol 7 line of country, west - _ w_a rd in Armagh, and eastward in Down; running for the greate: way in tnat v alley which constitu tes the bounds of those two counties ; in respec t of the several towns and villages on its bank~ , we will he re after shew , how they a re pa rticul arly benefited, in the 13th chap . and 5th section .

The great mistake in inland nav i ga tion , as ha s been proved_in various instances , is the adoptin~ the beds o: ri ve r s for the lines of canal under the idea of a saving of money1 but in fact it_ oc r.urs that this only tends to great and lascing expence . Rivers , from their low situation , naturally receive all superficial wate r,

1804 .

Coote ' s Statistical Survey of County Ar:nagh , pp . 106 - 111. (cont ' d) . fro~ sno~ and rai n , as well as from spring s , and a re, of course, subJect co floods, which not only interrupt the passage , but frequently sweep away the works, and leave them liable to incalculable expence : how many such navigations are there, at present, in Irel and , on which thousands have been expended to no good pur pose , and whose defects cannot be r emedied, but by abandoning the bed of the river, and adopting a new line? A partial selection of river beds , in favou rable situat i ons , such as are not subject to floo ds , is sometimes very adviseable, but whe re the ri ver is liable to r apid torrents, a navigation should neve r be though t of .

Formerly , the making of c anals was only considered adviseable , in propor tion to t he trade, which, it was calculate d , was tr an sported by land c arriage , and would ultimately def ray the cost of the work; but there are ma ny instances, of late yea rs, to p r ov e that such a calculation is too nigga r d , and that canals have no t only a ssi st e d trade, but cr eated new br anches of comme rce, as well as ill aterially improved agricu l ture . The prosp erous state of all the infant towns , on the Grand canal line , pe culi a r ly confirms this observation, where , but a few years ago, nothing but a bleak and uncultivated waste , or drea ry bo g , was to be seen . The im~ense ris e on landed property, in this extended line of canal , has al ready exceeded the most sanguine expectations, and this success should create an emulati on amongst the gentry in this pro,,ince, to f orward ,-,orks of such great i mp ortance to the natives in general , and particularly so to their own private interests .

1804 .

Coote ' s Statistical Survey of County Armagh , p . 358 .

The river Ban joins the Newry navigation within two miles of T&nderagee , and from thence, with the Cushier river, flows into Lough Neagh, making in this course about eight miles .

The gre at advantage of this canal is the constant sup ply of sea- coal brought from Newry , at 4s . 8d . pe r ton f rei ght .

The nu:ner ous bleach- mills i n this vicinity could not be supplied with turf, this fuel is so scarce in t his district . From Tanderagee to Guilford t here is the closest neighbourhoo d of opulent linen :ner chants ; and , for a great extent indee d, almost the whole of the country is a conti nuation of demesnes and beautiful i mp roveme nts; many of these are held by the respectable society of Quakers , and their esta blishments in the li nen trade are the most considerable in this count r y . A manufactory has been erecte d here for vitriol which is indispensable in t he ble a ching process , and is the joinf property of several me rchants, who have a large capital sunk in this concern , from which a sufficiency of vitriol is made, equal to their demand ,

1808 .

Post Chaise Companio n, 3rd Edition , p . 19 .

Two miles from Newry is Fat hom, t he seat of lr . Ogle .

The canal begins t here which goes t hroug h Newry to Lough Neagh .

1815 .

Newriensis , p . 243 . whilst we have been engag ed in speaking of these various local erections, a work was being inaugurated at soDJe cistance which was to have co nside r able influence for "Ood or ill on the co~merce of Newry . This was t he cutting of a channel through the bar at t he entrance of Cariingford Bay . A provisional or der for this nurnose had been obt ained from t h e Board of Trade in 18$3, and· in· the following yea r it was co nfi r med by Parliament. By this Or der the manage11ent of the ,1ork was entrusted to a Com,n ission consist i ng of twelve gentlemen, four of whom were nominated in the Or der, two were appointed by t he Ilewry Town Commi ssioners, t1-10 by the Newry Navigation Company, two by the Dundalk and Green ore Railway Company , and two by the Neur y and Greeno re Rc: ilway Company . The Commissioners have obtained a consi dera ble sum on loan from Government to enable the i, to ca r ry out t ne undertaking , and they are authorised t o cha r ge tolls on vessels entering the Lough, subject to cert ain conoi ti on s and exemptions .

c ..:-.::~:._,,_, .:.."r1_::;

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1815 .

Newry 1-1aga zine, Vol. 1, pp . 4 10 _413 _

ation , and havin g seen , in th:o~ ~l~!s ~p; culaLt i otnts upon inla~d navigoubli catio n of a s ' eer engin . ews - e er, t '1e -:by an inten ded Erne, p r op~ ~eg . Junct i on of Lough Neagh with Lough cana · is benev ole~c e_and ge~er osity in subni tting an a cc ount of impli es a wish that his schem es h~~' ~abbour _s : 0 J?Ubl lc. inspe ction , and review ed . d m_onc e i.npa rtiall y inves tigate eer , Alt~o ~gh I am ne it~e r a l?rofe ssed, nor a pract ical engin ts vemen imoro l ye~ I t~i?K a calm and impa rtial accou nt of sev e ra not be di sol easin g whic,h mignt be made on this inten ded cut, will rned · . to tne engin eer , nor to any other pe rson conce ct Obser ve first , accor ding to Hr . Owen ' s surve y, who is oerfe to r of the maste r of _the _use of the spiri t - level , an d is chief direc level of he t above Lagan navig ation , t he eleva tion of Lough Neagh La~an tne sea , is 41 feet nine inche s; and the su.~mit level ofthethesea~ canal above Lough Neagh is 72 feet, conse quent ly above 114 feet .

Secon dly , by repea ted accur ate obser vatio ns, it ap,-ea rs thatof the floor of the Armagh obser vator y is 205 feet above the level . Ther et he sea, and 95 above the lower end of t he comm on of Ar magh fe et above fore it appea rs that the lower end of this common is 110 of the level t the l ev el of the sea , 4 feet lo wer than the summi of runni ng Lagan navig a ti on . Does not this sugge st the propr iety ke eping 72 , ation navig a canal f r om the summit level of t he Lagan to Tynan , n com~o fee t abo ve t he surfa ce of Lough Neagh , throu gh this in whe r e i t may ente r th e inten ded Erne navig ation , and conti nue by , e thenc from ; ough r it by Gla s sl ough and Monaghan to Smith sbo ation prese rvi ng , if possi ble , the summi t level of the Ernewhi?avig ch , or til l i t ente rs the r i ver Erne , near Beltu rbet ; from branc h may a , t enien ·conv more f r om any othe r ua rt of t he navig a t ion proc eed to be cut wit h six locks , to Lough Erne ; and the mai n might lake s the lakes nea r Ki lle shand r a , wh ich ar e conne cted with t he point i ng ation navi~ t ea gr near Cavan , Coo t hill , and Bally bay ; the despon r cor a t owa r ds t he Royal cana l. Such can als would estab lish en ce with t he di ffere nt pa r ts of the provi nc e , and open a communica ti on with Dubli n and the wes t .

The count y of Lei t rim being but about two miles f r om _Kii.ll e- i. ng a escend shand r a and cros si ng the Newry canal by an aque duct, or but the se exoen into i t 'by locks woul d be a t tende d with some thi s by , would h cost of a br an ch ' f r om the pro j ec te d canal to Armag scheme , be sa ved .

1815 . ld The benefits whi ch r~~ult t~ the pre:vince , f r om the enginee r ' s plan are w~l~•/0~ It woula_ afford a cheap mod e of transpo~tin" th;- ~sc~i ~d .

Cavan, honaghan and T r re u~ an produce of toe counties of to the marke t s of Belfast, Hewry , Y one , th and Arma"h 11 consider that the tolls of the n?t did l ocks wo~id . chec ke t ~ngtneer ~ ra~spo r tation of the goods he mentions ; such as gra in butter -, an_ por • From the summit level of the rne n~vi"ati~n t f;om Belfa st otLofgh ~e~gh , there must be sixteen locks ; the canal 0, ough ifoagh has eighteen - what profits uoon gr ain - , b tt n The ' lut ~r , a a po r K, could support the tolls of such a nu:nber? a e Y P: OJe ~ted canal from Lough Er ne to Lough Neagh , is to be· 1 0 - aded ~rith cwenty- two, added to eighteen from Belfast to Lough Neagh , -~n all forty . The gre at canal of Languedo c, from Thoulouse to t he 1-iediterr anean , has only 5 aqueducts and 62 locks · five of ' ' those very near that gre at city .

u:c.

0

A gre at benefi~ he mentions , is the facility of tr ansporting coals of a l a tely di scovered coal - pit, to different c ounties f or house use? and for burning lime . rte says, "I had the pleasu~e to le a r n dur ing my su rvey, that there has been l ately discovered an excellent and extensive vein of bituminous coals . nine feet in t~ic kness , convenient to the northern shore of Lough Nea h , which might be conveyed to t he towns mentioned , not only excellent for house use , but for bu r ning lime " .

When the engineer made his surve y , he did not appr ehend that those coa ls would cost , at t he pit , £1 2s , per ton, whi ch I unde r stand is now the selling price at the pits; nor did he know the cost of land carriage from the pits to Lough Neagh , no r the frei ght on the canal , nor t he toll s of sixteen locks . Heither did he t hen know, that alth ough these coals are excellent for house use, they are too free f or burning lime with advantage . Culm, or blind coal , whi ch may be had f r om Newr y , ar e better, and pr eferred to Tyr one coals, for this pur pose . I am told those coals are now a little cheaper .

Taking into considerati on the price at the pits, t he landc ar r i a" e the water - ca r r i age, and t he tolls of sixteen loc ks , these pits c;n~ot serve Belfast, nor Ar magh ,_ wh i~h is many feet h~gh er than the summit level of the Lagan navigation . Great bene fits will indeed r esult from th os e pits to t he inhabit ants of the shores of Lough Neagh; but very few to the purchasers of the coals , when bu r dened with the tolls of sixteen locks . T'ne same advantag es would r esult from as cending the Lagan navigation t o Armagh, &c .

A canal cut f r om the summit level of the Lagan navigation , _ to the lowe r end of the common of Ar magh , and from thence to fonaghan , &c . ( which I nam e the Armag h c a~al ), would be pro duc~ive of more advanta ges to Ulster , than any yec projec ted . The sav ings , by occupying t he canal_and loc ks of the Lagan nav~gation, woul d be very great· - in the firs t instance, te n locks, ir they descend by tne Lagan navigation ; six locks, if they descend by the Newry Canal.

j .

1815. from all th e t owns men t·~oned bey ond Armagh , The ve sserls Ba nbr id" wou ld pa ss nea , an~ Lis bu rn, to Be lfa st and dto, gan Lrr e'. . d cen s de ut tho wi y r New r equ ire Lou~h Nea gh; bec aus e, if and ing _~ n New ry gh a com~un ic a tio n mi gh t eas ma Ar t he ~ Y e maae bet we en lat t o the r he eit r can als so tha t te 1 s mi ght des cen d by the sse ve ' sea b ' N ry, or to Lou gh Nea gh .

Y ew 0

g

ver y few . "Th e Boa rd are al can agh Arm the to s ion t T~ ; O? jec eth er a ir engine er t o as cer t ain whthe dee p of ~a vio a t ion ha ~e o~de rec douthe r med from any pa rt of fo be ld on ti ica u~ m com le ab na vig s of Cav an l-io na" ha n tie un co the ugh hro t e, Ern r e riv wat e r s of th e ll int o the riv er Bla ckw1 ter " .

Armagh, and Ty ron e , so as t o fa mus t is de te r min ed tha t the can al giv en If the Boar d of Nav i ga ti on cut be mu st for the pr ese nt agh Ar. the e, ron Ty h oug thr pa ss h to s s thr ou gh Ty ron e, from erLout ighme Nea . up . I f the ~an a~ ;11ust pacu t by Clo gh er , some oth Lou gh Ern e, it mign t be ine er of was t ake n by a mi lit a ry eng A ,51;1rver of thi s cou rse ter n to Lis nas ke a , by Aug hna clo y ' tow a ckw Bla m fro , s tie ili ao gre at and Br ook sbo rou gh , the dis tan ce Aughe r, Clo ug her , Fiv em ile tow n orm ed t ha t th e deo t h of wa ter i n sse l inf am I . es l mi 26 ly on ng ve bei nak ea , is su ffi cie nt to flo at any t he dri es t sea son nea r i Lis al . tha t can be na vig ate d n the can t t he Armagh can a l woul d , by mits The sec on d ob je cti on is , tha o the exp ens e . The cou r se fro t tly ea gr add e, s r cou us ito cu r ci sho rte r tha n by Benbur b . I t ch mu is , agh Arm to nan Ty by t Be ltur be agh to Li sbu r n; bu t it wouldl wind is ind ee d cir cu ito us fro m Arm un tie s in Ul s ter . The lib era thr ou gh the mo st fe r t i le co and gen tle me n t hr oug h whose su bs cri pti on s of the no ble men ly cou nte r act al would be cut , would fulam be au t ifu l es tat es thi s can ply remune r voy age would be he t of gth len The . n tio jec ob t his would pas s . The pri nc ipa l it ch i wh by wns to thy al we the at ed by ry t oc cu rs, is i n pas s i ng the New . dif fic ult y wh ich at pre sen sce ly on ine d by act ua l sur vey rta a be an c ich wh , on ati vig na ks and aqu edu ct s , i f any , loc he t of e ens exp al ion dit ad l The r ea be hop ed , rta inl y de termin ed . It isimto can no t by thi s vie w , be ce po rta nt wil l t ake thi s on ati vig na and inl of d ar Bo he t tha t or der an act ua l sur vey of the sub je ct int o con sid e r ati on , and Armagh can a l . ~h ; ma gni tud e of ~h is and , cts a f ve abo the ing r e sid on On rec d of inl an d und e r tak ing , I thi n K t he Bo art he gre at and us efu l na tio na l y ord er a ca ref ul su rve y of Hav i"a tio n wi ll i mme dia tel , and min e which sha ll ten d ter de n the sed opo pr ses r cou di ff; r en t . mo st t o p r omo te na tio na l int ere st 0

'

..l; .

5"0, 1815, I must suppo se that t he inte nded Erne navig ation has been judici ously laid down in the eng ineer ' s map , and agreea bly to the direct ions given; but I wish the vie w should extend from the summit level of the La gan navi ga tion to the royal canal ; and that the juncti on with Lough Erne and Cavan should be by branch es from t he main , as they woul d be to Lough Neagh and !1ewr y .

5( 1816 .

Shaw Jvi ason ' s St atistic al Survey, Vol. II, p. 525 .

The fuel is turf which is cut and saved in the months of July and August .

Great quantities of this useful article are conveyed by the Rive r Bann , from t he extensiv e bogs in its nei ghbourhood, the bogs in this pa rish (Seagoe ) being t otally inadequate to t he supp lyi ng of the inha bitants .

52, 1818- 1819 , Stuart ' s Histo ric al Eemoirs of the c1· ty o f Ar magh, p . 517 .

!'ifil:lu_Ex,po "t s From t he 1st of January, 1818 , till t he 24th of February, 1819 , £

..

Oats, 5796 tons at£10 per ton .. per lOs. . £3 at kins fir Butter, 103 ,229 Linen Cloth, 4 , 719 bales and boxes, at £100 pe r Flax ( 3890 bales at £18 per bale) ) (37 tons per , 9d , 13s Tow, 908 Bale s, at £5 , .• Hides, 3903 at £1 per Oatmeal, 292 tons, at £18 per ton Feathers, 265 bales, at £37 10s . per bale •• Pigs, 633 e t £3 per •• Cows, 161A , at £lb pe r •• Horses, 70, at £15 per Glue , 12 Hhds . at 5 Guineas per (788 Sacks at 6s . 8d . per sack Bran ( 37 tons, at £6 . 13 .4d . per ton (238 packages at £1 per Tanners ' Weste (21 t ons at £1 10s . per Potatoesi 470 tons , at £2 per . •• Flour, 2v bags , at £2 12s . pe r •.

Soap, 29 boxes, at £6 per per £2 at . hhds 11 Bone Ashes, Hair , curled , 23 bales, at £3 per Ca l f Skins , 12 casks, at £30 pe r Calves Valves , 20 casks, at £7 10s . per Old Rags, 84 packages , at £10 pe r Apples, 145 casks, at lOs . per •• Hay , 59 tons, at £5 per ton Whiskey, 30 puncheons , at £32 per Salt , 2000 Bushels 1 at l s . 3d . per Wheat , 271 t ons , at £17 per •• Beef , 60 barrels , at £3 10s . per Ditto 383 tierces, at£ 5s . per Pork ' 100 tierces at £7 10s . per Ditt~, 1177 barreis 1 at £5 2s . od . per •• Bacon , 569 bales, at £12 • •

s. d .

o o

. . 57,960 361,301 10

0

471,900 0 0 72,684 o 0 5,164 5 0 3 , 903 O 0 5, 255 o 0 9 , 937 10 0 1,939 10 0 16,180 0 0 1 , 050 O 0 68 5 0 262 13 4 246 13 4 238 0 0 31 10 0 940 O 0 52 0 0 174 O 0 22 0 0 69 O 0 360 0 0 150 0 0 840 0 0 72 10 0 295 O 0 960 0 0 125 0 0 4 , 607 O 0 210 0 0 2 ,010 15 0 750 O 0 6 , 032 2 6 6 , 828 O 0 £1 , 032 , 579 14

2

1819 .

Stua rt ' s !emoir s of Arm agh City, p . 517 , English coals are obtainab le at Armagh from Newry and Irish coals from Annah one and Coal Island . It is hoped t ha t Lough Neagh and Lough Erne will soon be con necte d by a gr and canal , from whi ch a lateral branch mi ght extend to Gran e in the nei ghbour hood of Armagh .

Fuel would then be obtainab le from Newry at reasonab l e r ates and the export trade of that town would be complete ly opened t o the farmers of the country .

St

NEWRY CANAL , The changing scene from the customs of life of other days (actually nearly 150 years ago), is very well exemplified by this account of a canal-boat voyage between Newry and Knockbridge (near Portadown), which is taken from the "Newry Telegraph" of April, 1812: "In fine weather this mode of travelling is quite delightful , and at all seasons is safe, commodious, and absolutely free from all unpleasant motion.

A passenger in the boat may amuse himself, either with view of a country highly picturesque, or rational conversation with his fellow travellers in the cabin.

"Yesterday being Easter Monday, various groups of people had collected.

These began to pursue the vessel.

Every village added some of its inhabitants.

The bridges were covered with gazing mortals, wedged like arrows in a quiver.

Each face was turned to the same object and as the boat shot under each bridge the spectators turned round that they might behold it escaping from the opposite side of the arch.

One would have thought that it was the first vessel that ever floated on the water since the launch of Noah's Ark. The beautiful girls, by the rapidity of their exertions, deepened their complexions.

The lily fled, the rose took sole possession.

"As we moved along the glossy surface of the canal the waters reflected the images of adjacent objects, like a polished mirror.

The fluid dispersed by the boat was seen to rush forward in a gentle swell to the banks.

Immediately afterwards, the weeds rushes and water-flowers were perceived to bend and the water itself to recede from the bank in a Jirection contrary to that of the boat to fill up the vacuity made by her wake.

Amusin& "We sometimes amused ourselves by drawing the curtains so as to admit the light in through a small At this time if we fixed portion only of the window. our eyes on the boys or girls endeavouring to keep When pace with the boat, the effect was amusing. their pace was equal to ours they seemed to be performing a laborious dance without advancing an inch.

When they moved with less celerity than the boat they seemed to be performing retrograde hornpipes as violent as the saltations of Pyrrhic dance".

Life was leisured and there was "time to stand The boat on the canal was and stare" in those days. the acme of pleasant travelling in days -when the quickest means of transport was horseback or the outside jaunting car or the stage coach, -which, of course, The was far off on the main roads from city to city. bicycle had not made its appearance, and the motor car was unthought of, and it was not until 50 years later that Tennyson dreamed of "the heavens filled with commerce".

The passage boat referred to in the above account was, we are told, "established by the respectable Quakers of Moyallon to enable passengers to go to Newry, transact their business and return home the same day".

Well, Portadown was little thought of by Why Newry?

Its population in 1816 was those living outside it.

Newry and Lurgan houses.

120 like something 600· about Even Tandragee, -which were the Meccas for the shopper. had 1 200 inhabitants in 1819, had more to offer.

Colon~l Blacker of Carrickblacker tells about the same period of his visits for meat to Lurgan, speaking rather disparingly of the butchers and provisioners of Portadown.

"The Portadown Times" - 12th Aug., 1960.

S&, 1819 .

Br adshaw ' s Dir ec t or y of Newr y and Armagh .

Newr y : Conv eyanc es by wate r - A few years ago a pa ssage boat was built by seve r al gentlem en to ply between Newry and Knockb r idge on the Newr y Canal. It leaves Newry ever y Tuesday , Thur sday and Satur day , and returns every Monday , Wedne sday and Friday .

183 0 , fa cCa be ' s Dir ect ory of Newry and Warren Newry Na vig ati on Com pan y.

19 Jun e , 1829 , 10 Geo . 4.

poi nt .

Inc orp ora ted by Act of Pa rli amen t

(Li st of Member s giv en) .

Als o contai ns (p . 79) a lis t of shi ppi ng Po rt of New ry . Gi ves names of ves se ls bel ong ing to the and names of bas ter s .

1831 - 37 , Ma r t i n ' s I r e land befo re and afte r the Uni on , p . 140 .

Newr y Navi gati on (betw een Newry and Lough Neagh and Newry and the sea) for goods only .

Tuns 1831

70 , 479

Tu.J.1..s.

2, 414

1832

88 ,434

3, 029

1833

89 ,165

3, 054

1834

99 , 363

3, 404

1835

101,5 14

3, 477

1836

102 , 770

3, 520

1837

102 , 333

3, 505

1834 .

I nglis' s Journey in Irela nd (4t h Edition) , pub . 1836 , p . 360 .

Newr y : Newry is a t own of cons i de r able trade and ·ncrea sing consequence: it s si tuati on is well adapted for comLerce : from Loch Ca rlingf or d , a ca nal communicates with the to,n; anct from J;ewry therefore t h e t own i s c arr ied up t o Lo ugh Neai:h . possesses immen se advantages as a pla ce of export , th w.:ate r communication t o Lough Neap,h t hrowir., onen the extensi ·,e c rn ut the c:.n:.l from di strict s wh ich li e t o the nor t h and west . for the tr o e : sufficie'lt not is Loch Carlingford t o t he town and it is intende d t o de eoen the river navi ation lelo w . ewr· so th at vessel s of 200 or · JOO tons bu r the ~a y co~e u to the to1m .

The export tr ade of Newr y is , next to oelfast t~e larrest The tonnaae inw~rds d rinr t .e l"st in the North of Ireland .

The three year s , aver ag ed 60 , 000 , outwards ab,,ut 45 , 0uv . exoorts its ll t In .

000 annual Custom r evenue i s about £130 , t he t own is increasi n ; in the article of but er alone 80 000 cas k s a r e exoort ed yea r ly : and a on tn, chief 3rtic~es of'impo rt tra de I ~ay name flax seeds , of w·.ich not less 10, 000 tons, will hav e been received this year at the port of Newr y .

bO 1835 .

Ordna nce Surve y Memo irs .

Durin g the summe r mo nt hs t he meadows al ong t he Bann cover ed with numbe rs of bl ack cat tle . The qua ys near t he ar e bri dge have a perc epti ble ai r of busi nes s , espe c al l y t ha t on t he Edenderr y side of t h e bri d e ... ... lhe r ver i s nar r ow above th e bri dg e, bu t wi dens out al mos t to t he s ze of a smal l lake below it .

6 (1837 .

Lewis ' s Topog r aphical Dictionary of Ireland .

Portadown : The river ( Ban) which falls into Lough Neagh about sev en miles below the to,m to the no r th, and communicate s with the Newry Canal about one mi le above it to the south , is navi ga ble f or ves sels of 80 tons bur den, but f rom a bar at its mouth , and from want of depth in the cana l , t he vessels ge ner al ly navi ga ti ng it seldom exceed 60 tons .

1837 , Lei gh ' s New Pock et Road Book of Ire land , !ll'- 38- :9 .

Newr y is a popu lou s man ufac turim · tmm and port hav:. r.~ two hand some brid ges over the Hewr y- wate r . e ~ail p:ss es ove r a draw bri dg e on t he c anal whic h i~ n~vi ~bl for s~a l sloo ps from Car ling fo rd to LouP,h ., eaph .

The quay and vess els floa tin~ 3lon rsid e it :or ·inte rest i ng si £;ht with in th e town itse f .

,

an

1837 .

Lewis ' s Topog r aph i cal Dict i ona r y .

Scar va : The village cont a i ning about 50 well built houses , was found ed about 1746 by the late John Reilly , Esq . who obt ained a cha r ter fo r a market and fair . It i s situated on the canal between Newr y and Lough Nea gh , having a small do ck and quayage fo r lighters : a considera ble trade is carried on pa r ti cula r ly in coal and tur f, suppl ying a populous neighbour hood and nume r ous bleach mi lls and manfactor ies (sic) with fue l.

1840 .

Lennox ' s Director y .

Newr y : Pri or to the days of Wi lliam III the river was not navigated above Warr enpoint; but that monarch by affording protection to the Newr y merchants , and conferring grants fo r the embanking of the rive r and improving the harbour, gave to he r merchants that spirit of indus try which ha s made Newry wha t she is .

Tr ad e is also f ac ilitated by a ship canal, which connects Lough Neagh on one side and Carlingford on t he ot her .

Th i s canal , 20 mi les long , was made by order of the Irish Government, unde r an Ac t of Pa r liament , 3 Geo . II, commenced in 1730 and comnleted in 1742 . It was placed under the management of l oc al commissi one r s and remained so until the year 1800 , wh en by Act of Pa r liament it wa s placed under the Boar d of Inland Navigation . In 1830 t he Cana l was transfer r ed fr om the abov e to the Newr y Navigat i on Comp any by Act of Par liament, 10 Geo r ge 4 .. .. . .

Merchants Quay is situated on the banks of t~e Cana l and almost enti rely taken up with merchants counting hous es, sto re s and wa r ehous e s . Here vesse ls can unload .

1842 .

Belfast Almana c .

The Belfa st train connects at Po rt adown with the Fly Boat fo r Newry on three days a week , At above date William Dargan ' s passenger boats Gr and Junction, Countess of Caledon , t he Antrim and Tyrone Steam Ferry Boat Ent erprise, the paddle steame r Marchiones s of Done ga ll and t he paddler t he Lady of t he Lak e - were all in commission on Lough Neagh .

Grand Juncti on and Countess of Cale don sold by auct ion in 1859 , The ea rli est steamship - the Ma rchi one ss of Donegall was l aunched in 1821 . She made her fi r st voyag e on Janua ry 5, 1822, from Ellis Harbour where she Has built , havi ng in tow the La ss o f Sc arva laden with co al for t he Dungannon Dist ille ry .

On the day of he r maiden voy ag e t housand s of people ga t he re d at Maghery to see he r pass .

1843 . la rtin ' s Ireland Be for e and After the Uni on , p . 136 .

Newr y Navigation .

The leng t h of the 1-:ewr y Ca:ial is 16½ mile s . It fo r .D.s the com:nunicatio n bet\-1een lewr y and Lough Ne agh and beti-1een Ne 1,1r y and t he sea .

In l t:; 3'7 the tonnag e amounted t o l0~ , 332 and the to ll s to i3 , 500 .

From Belfa st t o Coal Island the len gt h of the l!av i gation is 61 mi les, from Newry 39½ miles .

b1.

1843.

Thacke r ay ' s I rish Ske tch Book .

The brisk lit tle t01:m of Portadoun , with its comfort,bl e unpretendin g house , its squa res and mar'-et place , its pretty cr aft along t he river - a stea~e r building on the cockside , close to the mills and wa re houses t ha t l oo·, in a full st3te of pr osperity was a pl easant concl us i on t o this 10 miles drive t hat ended at t he newly opened r ailway station . ( Journey f r om Ar ,n agh t o Belfa st) .

1844 .

Lough Neagh Steamer .

The Grand Junction . Will leave Ballyronan wi th <;oods and passengers, every Honday , Wednesday and Friday at 8 o ' clo ck and calling at Ne wpo rt Trench wi ll a r rive in Portadown in time for the 2 o ' cloc k train . Ra ilway t r a in to belfast and Fly Boat to Newry .

Returns t o Bal lyronan e very Tuesday, Thur sday and Saturday on t he a rr ival at Portadown o f t he 10 o ' cloc k train from Belfa st and Fly Boat at Newr y , c al li ng at Newport Trench . Agent J oseph Handle y, 81 Ann Stree t, Belfast ,

1844 .

Frazer ' s Hand Book fo r Travellers in Ireland, 1884 , p . 614 .

Portadown_ is situate d upon the Upper Ban wh ich falls into Loug h Neagh , 71; mi les below the town, and communi cates with the Newry Canal ab out l¼ miles abo ve it .

The Bann is he r e navi gable for vesse l s of 60 tons burden The principal tr ade carried on is at t he weekly market whe r e a gre at deal of cor n and ot her ag ricultural pr oduce is brought and for warde d to Newry - the r eturni ng bar ge s bring timber, slates, coal , i r on, etc . for inland conswnpti on .

Ibi d , p , 598 . It was not until the middle of the last ce ntury , when comme rc ial enterprise aided by the Gover m,ent opened t he navi ga ti on to Lough Neagl1 that the foundation of its present improvemen t was laid .

7C> Kane ' s "Indust r ial Resources of Ireland" , 2nd Edition, p . 357 .

The Newry Canal communicating with t he sea about ;,; miles below the town, passes northwards for 16½ miles (Irish) to Whitecoat where it joins the Bann and by it passes into Lough Neagh . ~~..!1Q.._p_as~LJ2Q.ai.Lo.n this canal.

In 1837 the traffic was 10~ , 333 tons producing in tolls t he sum of £3,505 . 11 . 5 .

Ibid , p . 360 .

Steam vessels have been placed upon the lake (Lough Neagh) which colle ct at va r i ou s ports on the northern and western _ sho r e , goods and pa ssengers,and convey them to the south ano east.

1L

1846 . ..., , Publi shed by Gr eer Pi ctur e s que ,Iandbook t o Ca rli ngfor d vay t of Newr y , e c . 1 846 , pp . 168- 17~.

Newry Navi gat i on :

. • ?r i gi na l~y the Navi gation to Newry appe ar s to hav e been of ! r 111 7ng s er v ice t o t he c omme rc e of this part of the count r .

Ihe river pr esent e d so many obst ru cti on s t hat the passa "e wa s dif f i cul t or i mpr ac t ic abl e , except for v~s se ls of i nc onside r abl e bur den . l he Customs of Newr y we r e r e ceived at Carl i n" f or d as th at an ci ent to,,m , f rom i ts pr oxi mit y to the deep sea u and ' t he de pt h o f water i n t he bay cont i guous to i t , was found ' a conve ni ent stati on f or shi ps of l ar ge bur t hen . But t h e situat i on of Newry be i ng much bet t er ada pted for i nland t rade , i t s navi gat i on was i mp rove d so as t o admit coa sting and s eabo r ne vessels up i nto t he town, wh en immed i ate l y it s comme rc e began t o i ncrease .

ITT

Th e Canal was ori gina lly f or med for conve yi ng coa l s f ound in t he count r y bo r derin g upon Lough Neagh to Newr y , and then ce by sea to Dubl i n and ot her I r ish port s . Even t ua l ly t hos e adva nt age s we r e r ever sed; for , from wan t of cap i tal , those coa l mi nes have never been f ul ly or perseve r i ngly worked , and now one of the chief ite ms of t he ca r rier t r ade by t hi s canal, i s t he coals i mnort ed i nt o Newry and then ce t hrough t he cana l t o Portado ,m , Dun"annon Ca ledon ' Bl a ckwate r tm-m , &c . It s utili t y is ve ry ext ~n sive; as it opens a water communic at io n with f ive c~unties , Dovm , Der ry , Antrim, Tyrone , and r ~agh ; and , by me ans or t he Ul ste r Can al , which connects Lough ~rne and Lo~gh Nea~ h , Cavan , J.ionagh an, and Fermana gh , also expo rts and i mp_o: t s t hei r mer cha ndis e by water vi a th e por t of Ne1-1r y , wn i ch i s t he gr eat nat ur al outl et of Ulst er .

The Canal which connects Lough Ca r l ingfo r d with t he_ Upper Bann a~d Lough ' Neagh its course runni ne north along t he bot~orn of the f er t i l e va l l ey which se par ates Ar magh f r om Down , formi ng i n many p l a c es a boundar y line bet we en t ho se co~ t ies; r~~ of construct ed by orde r of the Iri sh gov e~rment , b~u~r i~ 1730 and wa;r om the Tyr one ' t he Irish Par l i ament , 3r d Geo r ge IIth. 1!bout twent y- one Eng lish ve ssels pass ed t h r ough it l ad en wi /?a C?llie rie s i n 1741. Th e Canal , thwhi~- n~s an d that rive r continue s ' h Neagh at t ha t t i me e mi l es in l eng t h f r om _Fat hom ttho t he Na vi gat i on ten miles f ~r et hr tgus~~: House , ' old Quay , in the ope ned into the tide opposite • e N ;ry to Fathom was compl eted south end of Newr y . The cu~ ~r om t e~ he Cana l, was accomp li shed i n 1763 . This val uabl e adi7 t ~~nHo ~ James Fortescue , f at he r g MP · f or Lout h ai ded and under th e nuspices of t he ti h0 n M• p and wnh am Qc,le , Esq . , , of the l at e Lor d Cl ermont suppor t ed by Robe r t Sc ott ?dE~ i ' ' hd ~omme rc ial ent e~ prise gr eatly Who by the i r untiring a s si ui Y a promoted t he pr o spe rity of Newry .

f

72. .

1546 .

Newry Navigation (cont ' d) .

The N~vi~ation was formerly under the management of a Boa r d cons1.st1.ng of the gentlemen whose est at es lay ~onti guous to _the Canal , the members for Newry, the magistrates 1or the counties through which it pa ssed , th e clergy and others .

Twenty - one of these were necessary to form a Board · and as it was found i mp ossible to bring together so many individ~als as often as was necessary, the Canal fell into decay . It was t he refore in 1800 , transferred by Act of Parliament from t he mismana~ement of the local commissioners to that of the Directors Ge nera l of Inland Navigation . In 1830, it was transferred from t ha t body

by Act of Parli ament, 10th George IV ., to t he control and super intendence of a Board at Newry, called t he Newry Navi gatio n Company, the committee of which consists of a number of the merchants and shipowners of the town, and gentlemen pa r ticula r ly interested in the success of t he Navigation. The engineer in chief is Sir John Rennie , the resident engineer, John Ramsay , Esq . , M. A. , in whose skill and jucl.gment the ?ommittee deservedly repose the gre a test confidence. From a parliamentary return issued dur ing the present year, on the motion of Mr . ~eorge Hamilton, l1 . P ., the followin g appears ~o be the pe cum.ary relationship between t he gove rnment ano the trustees : Pur pose of Loan - Newr y Navigation Company . , Amount of Loan £12 , 000; Issues by Exchequer Bills , £1~,000;_rate of interest four per cent . ; Amount of Intere~t ~aid , £3 , 948 17 s . ld .· Repayments on account of Principal, £5 632 ls 5d • Balance outstanding, £6 , 367 18s . 7d .

Diito (fu;th~f to complete) - Amount of Lo n&£~OV?O~ ; nd I ssues by Excheque r Bills, £10,0too} . u e~r cent · ~o~nt .

1 c 44 £10 000 · Rate of Interes , ive P 1 d £1 160 17s . ld .· Balances outstanding, t' .f It' Amount of f:4;c 000 , n ere s pal o · , £20 , 000 . Total amount of Loan, interest paid, £1~ ,451 ls . lld , t C 1 two miles fa r ther seawa r d anaieted the Sea - locks will An extension of t~e P:esen is being made . When this will be comp . le ' north of the head of be four miles sou th of ~ewry , a nd 1 ~r=dmto dee pen the Canal so d other ships of larger Lough Carlingford . It is contemp as to admit steamers of 600 tonst an·ve docks are to be formed burden, up to the to,m ,. '::here ex_ e~s~f the river was obstructed to receive them . The t 1. oa l port~o d so that only vessels of by natural deposits of stones an _m~ tater could come up to the htgwe r por tion of the rive r have S!llall burden , and these on~y at th e bo means of a steam dredge _a nd town . These obstruct ions in been in a gr eat measure r emove~, a~d in the middle of the rive: diving bells particularly an 1.sl d (so called if we can credit ' , ea 11 e d Nun ' s Islan at th e, Harrows t was there in ' anci· en t t1.·mes) , oral tradition, because a conven

6

7~ 1846 .

Newry Navigation (cont ' d) .

has been al toge t her t aken away . At p r e sent, l arge sea - borne vessels of 200 tons and upwards ca n readily come up to the toi-m .

The toll exacte d from laden vessels entering the canal is one shilling :?er to;1 inwards, and one penny per ton outwards . The rece:ipi of tolls in 1832 , amounted. to £3 , 029 lls . 8d . Amount for yea r ending April 5th , 1846 , £4 , 059 4s . ld , The Nav i gat i on to Newry has the advantage of a Lighthouse , situated at the Bar, on Haulbowline Rock , at the mouth of Lough Carlingfo r d . It was e r ected in 1823 , and shows, at an elevation of 101 feet above high wa ter, a fixed white light, which can be seen fifteen miles out at sea . The r e is another Li gh th ou se in Ca rling for d Lough , two miles and a half farther inland, on Greeno r e Point, erected in 1830 . It is a white revolvi ng light , twenty - nine feet above high water , and may be seen nine miles off at sea . There is ahothe r li ght still required at lfarrenpoint to enable inward- bound vessels to re a ch t he head of the Lough in da r k nights . The s t eamers particularly feel the want of this light in winte r, and when the atmosphere is foggy . Captain Laurence Tallan , commander of the Hercules steamer - en pa s sant as gentlemanly and experienced a seaman as it has ever- been our good fortune to sail with - is of opinion , that if this li ght we re pla ced on the Black Rock or some othe r elevated ulace at the head of the Lough , and that the Bar were removed, the Carlingford Lough would be a most com plete easily entered and pe r fectly safe ha r bour of refuge shel t~red from every {.1ind . All the experienced commande rs t he ~ough , of ste~me rs, and sail- vessels acquainted with 1 includin~ Captain Tallan Captain James 0 Hagan ,_L1eutenant Servante ( Cornmander of the Re venue Cruiser on this c?ast~ , ano Captain Thomson of the Sea Nymph , agree in represent~n~ it as an admirable natural safet y harbour , i f the Ba r, the chie1, ,nay t~e only obstruction to its usefulness as such , we re removeo .

Bar is a natur al deposit of blue clay and boulders, upon fas ra a of limest one rock , at a considerab~e i~ptt ~:~ow i~\,!~r 0 ~~:inally e ~· on~ of sand and clay r unning r ight ac r oss the ent r an ce O th a ve:y narrow ridge, but from th e r cc~ut1t~ eve r y tide, it has ndred fee t . This has e ou ?arried do1-m from the head of the Southern Channel has incre ased it s b re adth to nearly seven ~u increased very r ap idly of l atedy~a r:h!i~~!ov~l of limestone between ? t t hereby diverting the bee n created or r ather enlarge lessenin ~ its force in Pein' gau lla Ba and sland I Blockhouse nd current from its natural channel, a d nd clay it formerly fo rced carrying over the Ba r _mu ch ?f th ': ~a~e/ our readers will bette~ ove r and carried off into t0e ~ris r obst r uction f r om the following Understand the nature of th is ar 0 diagram of i t : 0

'~'rn:

0

7 4.

1846 , Newry Na vig ati on ( con t 1 d) .

Hig h Wa te r Spr ing Tid es

~ _H_i.;;;g_h_ W_a_t_e_r_O .:...r:..::d=i: . :n:: a:..r~y~ T:.:i:.:d'..:e:.:s~~~- - - - - -

-- - - -

o

-'~i; __ Low_ Wa_ ter _ Sp rin g Tid es

....:_________::::....__~:.::....--=-- - -- - - - -

Car li ng for d Lou gh .

,

On th~ Ba r. at

°'

The Ba r 700 fee t bro ad ¾Mile long

I r ish Sea .

wa te r spr

es, t he dep th of wat er is 9 ree t, wh ils t immedi ate ly ins i deingt hetidbar 1 01·1

at the sa'll e tim e the wate r r ~p idl y d~e pen ds t o eig ht fath om des cen sio n of tne Bar is mor e rem ark s and upwa r ds . Ou tsid e , the abl e, for it abr upt ly sin ks int o t~e I ris h Sea , fro m wh ich the dee Lough is onl y sep ara ted by thi s sin gle p wa ter of the Ca rlin gfo r d the wa ter on t he Bar at ord ina ry ti de obs t r uct i on . The ris e of s is l" fee t , and spr ing tides ei ght een fee t .

It has bee n as ce rta ine d by s ci enat tif i c and accu r ate cal cu lat ion , th a t an out l ay of abo ut £60 , 000 wou l d eit he r ent ire ly re mov e or suf fic i ent l y dee pen thi s Bar to adm it passage of ve sse ls of t he gr eat est . bur den at all sta tes of the t he tid e an out lay i nsi gn ifi ca nt co□ pared wit h t he nat i ona l as we ll as loc al adv ant age s it wo uld c onf e r; f or as t he re is no har bou r of refuge on t h e no rth - e a st co a st of Ire lan d , ves sel s cau ght by str ess of weathe r , pa rti cu la rl y sou th- eas t gal es , in ~he . I ris h sea , in:7ar iab ly make for Ca rlin gfo r d Bay for s'.1 elte r , ai:a w,1en t he tid e ,n ll ~ot pe r mit them t o ent e r it by re aso n of the Ba r, 1 t . ve r y frec ,ue ntl y nas hap::, ene d tha t t he y hav e bee eck ed upo n t he I ri sh <:_Oa:t , and human lif e and v alu abl e pr ooe rt ny wr sac rif ice d . Al l the s: ra: cs have been submit te d t o t he Adm ira lty , and rec ogn ise d . The r omedy may con fid entthe i r imp or! anc ~ rul lY 1 1. . ~ iing t he app roa chi ne spr ing , a s the ly be exp ecc ed, co ':'e api;> - e? pr ope r ste p s ro r i nsu rin g it - 1 be studi ous ly pe r sev ere d in .

1846 .

Newrie n s i s, p . ::C24 .

About this t ime t !ie c ana l was leng t hened fr om Fa t hom two ;niles fa rt he r s e awa r d . The sea loc ks a re now si t uate t hree miles and 3- half s out h o f Hewr y , and one mil e and a- ha l f no rt h of Harre npo i nt . Seve r al obs truct i ons whi ch imueded t he n a vi ea t ion we re r emove d , especi ally an is l and in· the mi ddle o f t he river a t Ha rrow- wa t e r, called Nun s ' Island, becaus e tradit ion a s serte d t hat a convent had been ~tuate t h ere of old .

71::, ,

1846 .

Slater ' s Directory of Ireland .

Newr y : A noble ship canal is now in proces s of' completion for connecting the r iver with the town , which will receive ste ame rs and traders of the largest burth e.n conveying them to the wa re house doo rs of t he respe ctive consigne es .

Conveyance by water .

To Enniskillen and Belturbet , the Ulster Canal Comp any ' s boats daily taking go ods to Belfast , Portadown , •foy , Caledon , Monagh an, Clo nes , Maguire ' s Bridge and all t o,-ms adjacent .

77, 1854 .

Doyle ' s Tour of Ulster , p , 45 .

Newry : By means of the " Newr y Cana l Na vigation " it is united to Lough Neagh and be ing t hus connecte d with the Great Ulster Canal , its communic ation with the l i ne of traf fi c from Sha n!lon t o Be lfast is es t ablished . The company have the manageme nt of t he po rt and c anal , by whom the latter has just been comp le t ed , which has t hus se cu re d t o the mer chants of the town the utmost fa cilit y fo r ext ending thei r commerci al r elations .

1855, Harmion : Mar i ti ue Ports of Ir eland , p . 304 .

There a re 4 brid~es of t drawbri dg es of wood o~er ~ s one a cross t he river and 4 che canal , whi ch r un pa r alle l i n their course t hrough t he t own ( Newr y) .

Ibid, p . 304 .

The vie1•1 of Newry from t he sout h a s ent ered f r om t he Dubli n road, is pa rticu l arly ag re eabl ~ t o the eye, and t he can al which i nt e r se cts its str ee t s and vall ey s wi t h vessels of considerable tonnage on its surf ace, gi ves a str ong resemblance to Dutch or Belgi an t m-ms .

Ibid, p . 312 .

That aft er the cana l from Lough Neagh to Jiewry had be en completed i n 1741, it was deemed expe dient, as already shown under the head of Inland Nav i gati on t o extend i t t o Fa t hom .

Ibid, Precis, pp . 123- 1 24 .

The New r y Na vigation - Constructed t o convey coal f r o,n Lough Neagh to Newry. and t hen by sea t o Dubli n, etc .

Commenced 1(7) 820 Act of 3rd Geor ge II . Ve s sel s wit h coal through i n 1741. Cut from Newry to Fathom in 1763 .

Fathom - Bann at Portadown 21 miles River to Lough Neagh 10 miles .

1st A Boa rd of Directors . ~nen Commissioners of Inl and Na vi ga t~o n.

1ben 13 Newry Navi gation by Act lOsh Geo . IV, composed of 30 me rchants and ship owners . in Newr y . n 6 nd 7 Vic . to deene n and A l oan of :,:..30 , 000 under a t o deen water at Warrennoint . exte nd th e navi ~ation from Fa~homto Newry . I n 1831 to nnage Now about 14 or 15' feet of wa.r£ 2 413 3 10 In 1837 home by c anal 70,479 tolls pai , • • · 102, 322 tons, tolls of £3,005' . 11 . 5' .

jr:;

90

1859- 60- 61 .

Newr y and Ty r on e Nav i ga ti ons

(cont , d) .

1741. 'rhe po rt ion betwe en Hewry and Fatho co.upl e t ed until 30 years later .

Point uas not

We l earn f r om a r eriort in 1750 of Hr . Acheson Johnston , Undert ake r and Eng i n eer of the Newr y Canal uositions then not inc omJ;> atible , that of the fif t een locks on ' the canal , twelve we re in go od or d er, two. of the remaining three uere built nine yea r s ~r e v iou sl y on~ Fr en ch rilan , with pipes in the side wal ls ins t ead o f slui c e t unnels ; these were subject to burst a• d we re out of o rd er . The splays or f r on t s and tails of the locks were built o f b ri ck and we r e moul der i ng away , and the waste of wat e r wa s such , t ha t the l e vels , full over nicht , were dry in t he morni ng .

The th i rd l ock 1-1as built of common rough stone, and t he wa t e r had poo l ed behind it in several ilaces . A mile and a ha l f of t he upper l e vel , next Poynt z Pass , was so narrow t hat t wo bo a ts of bur t h en could not pass ea ch other .

As t o t he then s t ate of the navigation fro::i Loueh ,:e 0 el1 t hr ough the c ount y of .i'yrone towards the coal pits , ,-;r . Johnston st at e d tha t t he nav igati on was continued out of the loueh by the Magh ery Cut for n ea rly three mi les in the bed of t~e olackwater river and tha t a c an a l was c arried from thence 3 miles 38 perches t o t h~ town of Coal I s l and , tha t it had three locks uuon it of stone, a nd t h at i t shoul d be ca r ried further tow;:irds the colli er i e s of Drumg l a ss and St ewart st o1-m .

The ·iagh e r y Cu t was made a cr oss t he isthmus o! ~~at nam,e fo r t he uur uose of a voi d i ng the bar at the mouth. or ":18 0 1° cKwater, h~ving up on it 1 foot 10 inche s of water rn s\.LllJJer · Th t · t · f t he canal on 1•,r. Acheson Joirnston ' s e con inua i on o . l t. r-lr . Christooher 1-,ye rs pl an , h a vi ng p r e sente d some di f r~ cu ies , of the ,-arks·, in 1762 . was appo inte d t o su c c ee d him as 0 ~~e c ~~~t size to enable ve s sels He pr op o s e d t o make a c anal of sur~~~ ic ol l i eries . Ee began a t of 100 t ons t o sa il f rom Ne wr y tot de m;ch ur oryress when h e t he col l i ery basin , bu t he had no ma e t that he r e com.oended f ound . t ~a t t h e . exp ens e would ~e s o ~~ th ; exper i me nt, a~ . he the givi ng of i t up a ft e r hav in~ ma f the l i ne and builai ng a cal led i t, of exc avating a port i o~ O The est imated cos t of t hi s l ock 125" fe e t long and 22 fee w~l e · t e r - i nation of the old canal canal , t o exte nd 2-!J- mile s , f r om T~: i nt ent ion of makin~ it t o t he colliery , wa s £ 26 , ooo .

Du ka rt an English Engineer , havi ng bee n ab andon e d , Mr . D~~is n ~e r vi ~e , wa s ;ppoi~t ed . iie who h ad b een l o ng i n the Sa r t ni a 1 ass and Coal Islano , a made a commun ic a ti on betw~en r rgt he formation of four pools, dist an ce of abo ut t h ree miles, Y o• -

,

0

1859- 60- 61.

Kewry and Tyrone TTaviza tio ns

( cont I d ) .

or levels , at d iffe~e nt e levations , 4 fee t deeo and ~4 fee t wide ? for vessels ?l L:: t ons burt hen : betiieen ea cn lev el. i;as an ir:i~hned !:lane ha~ing bea'.ns ? f timber l aid 00 , 111 wi t:1 c 3 stors fixed on them.

These contrivances, called dr y hu rri es , uere ime nded for smal l l aden vesse.Ls to go dmm with t'1e hel of a crane and_ r ope to p r e ve nt their runnine too fas t, anf al~o to dr aw up t 'le e11pt y boats .

This system of narrow c anals , inclined plane s, and ,~ee.Led boats of about 4 feet in width , was r e colllsiended by i"ulton as useful in faci lit ating the navigation of the '.reat rivers' snd l akes o f A!lle r i c a , and 1..1as intended as ~n i:1 rov,rnent 011 the 1:'lan of the Ch inese, who, being ignorant o the contrivance of a · l ock , us e, at the ri r esent day , inclined planes , up 1/1ic'l ,neir boats are nulled by a gr ea t expenditure of , anual labour.

In the year 1774, ~r . J essoo was consulted as to the ~de ·:i f constructing t h e inclined planes bet,·ecn tl18 oifferc t reac:1es of t i1e ca nal , and he hav ing had so,1e co,1bt s "s to tne 106c Jf p:r.oceeding , had recourse to the advice of &neaten ; w;10 , ln is reuly as "i ven in the second vo l u.ne of h ls 'le ports, observes "Tha t ' a s t h e bulk of the exnense had been incuEed i ,.al:ing the r~ a ches of the c an al t he exoeriment of Duc.rn rt ou i1t t be carried out in order to test its· applicabilit r to other . l a ces" .

S!neaton adds - " If the sche,ue do es not, on tric:l , _answer , a . railr oad of timber , after t :ie mai:incr of tho~e _a~ .· e'. c&s!l: _::.no Whitehaven , would be pr eferable in . sucn a s1tua , _i? ri , e _ c --r ;.o~_ a canal or a gravelled road, especially as ~t ColL;-c., be_ uo~;. tisn a l ength of t1-10 mile s and most of t,,e \-.ay uown h.Ll- , • 0 .· { t he loaded wa~D'ons wo~ld '-?O 6.oun by t::1e;r 01.•m bravi;~ , c!DC . ~e-~ horses wo~ld h~ve nothing . . . t o do but t<;> ar :;i.1.-.r t~e _e~-:-,vy .. one.s 0 ~~ ., which i n a rise of 19" feet i n t1;10 ,lllles, ,-,o~lc• ue e';'_s) '..or .. .

He a t t h is time c ~nno t understand ho1.-1 a u.osc ex,,ens.Lv,:; etnd , . ' ~ . f ed t o t he s1 ·p 1 e ano co:Jplicated syste:a should be y,r e e rr: -- effective co ntrivance of an incline n plane . d oar tl y execut ed a subterranean Mr . Duckart also pr oposetd . an h. aft s t o be made t o answe r a_s . b le ca na 1 , wi"th " S . e s and to comsuni cate witn naviga , ve nt ·.c l "- inll' a sough or drain for all the co ~;~i o6 ~ ~am ilton bury , 0 st the old navi ga tion , . a co ~ ~~r' ~ 11 t he 1.,~; ,~s of t,1e ,:ore , an Engineer, who had oeen c?ntr;;c f th e tlouse of Con.nons , as we gave evidence before a Committee ~ be exec ute d for the estimate , do now- a - days , that the work cou1 th us i· t was not so done , and but , as also some t imes · 'nap.ne ns , f wi ~siderabl e su:o of money , was , after the expenoi ture o a co. abandoned about the year 1775 .

a:

1859- 60- 61 .

Rewry and Ty r one Eaviga ti on s (c ont ' d) . _ . :r : Richa r d Owe n ~a vin:; been ca lled on for h i s orof essi onal aC!VlCE: l? 1787 , f~und _che hu rries cons truct ed by i-:r . - Ducka rt out 0 1 oroe~ . he r ecomsena e d t he grad i ent of t he incl i ne s to be l!s~en~o , and t ne ~e arns and r~l l er s to be r eplaced ty a road made 0 1 oro ,,en sto ne ano gr avel. l n t his s t at e ma t te -r s r e2Jained a s long as unche c:red dil ap i dat i on per:nit t ed . · = Wit h r ef~r en ce t? t ha t por ti ~n of the na vigat i on f rom Newry to rath~m, ,-1hich, a s oe fo ~e st ate ~ , was no t fini shed unt il thi rt y years arter t ha t bet we en ~ewry ana t he bann . a contract wa s entered into in 1758 , for its execution , Hith Er . J oh n Golbo rne, ingineer, of Che st e r , wh o , aft e r uorking at it f or a vear abandoned it , and ret u rned to his own country . . ft er Golborne ' s ciepartm-e, r e c ourse ,.-, as had to Hr . Ch r istoph er iiyer s and ,-'. r .

Thomas Ome r, in conjunctior: , by whom , Hh at Ha s done by Go lborne , was condemne d , a nd consider able sum s wer e l ai d out by th ew U!) to 1763 , without , however , pr oducing any de sir able r e sul t ; f or, on inquiry before a Committee of the Hous e of Commons , i n 1767 , it appeared that t he 1-1ork was wl1olly inope r ative.

0

Er . Christopher Hye rs, wh o, at t ha t pe ri od , wa s ~rch it ect to His Najesty • s Board of Wor k s, hav i ng been examined , s;; ated tha t so much of the work as was carr i ed on by him, in 1762 and 1763 , was in accordan ce with the plan app rove d by t h e House i n 1759 , _ that he had advised 6 fee t de oth instead of 9 feet, as exe cute a , and that h e h ad offere d in the first i n stance t o~c ontr act fo rth~ •1hole for +'18 000 orovi ded half the amount was che n gr ante d , ano the r emainde r' in the followi ng session , bu~ as £5 , 000 . onl y was gr anted , he refused to be responsi ble f or its comp letion .

1

Hr . Thomas Omer , who was a Dutch_Engineer, havin g b~en

..

examined as to the insufficiency of h~s pl ans , excu se d ~i~ s! !~e by stating that he knew ~hey. would noc answ~~!t t ~:t 0 ~~c~!ded while t "J em by order of the Navigation Board , anc t he money l as te d . litary inst ance of t he mis As t his 1-1as by no means a so· f d the manag e-~ ent - 01• t -he Kavi- oPation applic ation of publ ic un s , t"i t - body w"ii ch comm ence d its Boar d f ell into disrepute ; a nd ; a n' was dissolved by the func tions in 1730, under the 3rotGeo . f g~~ntin~ aide to orivate 27th Geo . III i n 1787 , ':nd a sy,s em ~ubsc r iot i ~ns 1~as thence unde rt akers, in propor ti on t'? ~ne~r of that a ct. he navi gations forth adopted under t he provisi?n,rr the boyne , the Ba:row 1 t he thus tra nsferred we r e those of tie ·f;; carrying on the Limeri ck Shannon , and Tyrone . The company rated in the year 1767, and ~or poTo these unde rt akings grants Navigation had been alre~dy 1 the Gr and Canal Company in SOO and in the latter year a sum in aid were made f rom 1789 to 1 1 ied t o the system of navigation of £500 , 000 was granted t o be appt iof t he Por t of Dublin in generally , and for the improvemen

77

1859- 60 - 61.

Newry and Tyrone Navigation s (cont ' d) . particular, under the supervision of a board of five di rectors .

The u1ana-; e ,~ent of a body so numerous and ill - consti tuted as the old Na vigatio n B?a r~, c o sisting as it did of eighty - six pa rsons, twenty commission ers having been particularl y named for each of the fou r p rovinces, with the Chi ef Governor, the four. Archl:nsh?p s, t he _Speaker for the time bein , at their head , ca rr ied 1·1ith it rom t ne beginning the ge r m of its o,m decadence ' and in its failure could have suggested no ot he r feeli ng than that of surprise at its having been accorded an existence of fifty - seven years, during which twenty - three different extensive p r ojects were undertaken, but not a sin<'le one brought to comp letion, with an aggregate expenditure of £600 , 000 . But bad as t he administra tive part of the management must have been, the executive was still worse, and its details go far t o show that there were othe r c auses of failure than that generally received of a n reva len t system of jobbing, an i mputation from which to' relieve the countr y , even at this distance of time, is a duty not too l Gte to be pe rformed; the inference fro~ tne . statement of facts being left to others to draw, keeping in mind tnat the Engineers e mp loyed during the per iod referred to were not Irish .

About the year 1780 the canal was extended three mil es further to Fatnom, to accommodate t '.1e ordinary run of coasters of about 120 tons, there being 9 feet depth of water on th~ ~ill , and a feet bread t h of lock , In 1789 h r . ~ichard Evaris ~ Civil Enc-ineer reported on the state of the navigation , a~~ ~v~ .· th a enb e ':.l t, but without having been.

P-l ;n~ fo~- its imurovemen ear t o nave een r-iven t· t · • results , nor does any renewed a ten iont~PP stin" of the Ty;one·· to the subject until the year .. l~~'B on . Oe f vinland Naviga tion oar o to ext~nd the canal ' Navigation in the newly c on stitu 1·1hen Sir Thomas Hyde Page made a. rro~osa!n Poi~t at a cost of from Fathom to Rice ' s Bay , oppos ice_ arr t the ab;ve neriod the £ 136 , 000 . On entering intotp~,sses s~~~ a con-structed at a cos t 'lmost into a st:ite of ne wo Directors- Gene r al found tha of £114 , 220 , had been a~loued to fa~i 20 7 30 on the Tyrone r:uin, and they were obliged to exp~ and f5, 379 on the l1avigation which had been aba nd ?ne tion i n d~e,:ienin; the levels 3. of the latter r econstructi on of the Newry Na~iga£l5 ' t~lls . Un to 1812 these and rebuilding mos t of the loc s ; f expenditure having been re~~iv~~re~ ~:o n of Mr . Brownrigg , who ointed . e wor ks were executed under app r Enginee native t firs was t he 1 k at Fathom , and the p~tt ing The widening of the sea. 1 ~c. the first instanc e or th at in of a ston e pla~for~ a 1nd 1si d - wa s subsequentl y executed at an mode of constructio n in re an , 0

t

oh

1859- 60- 61.

Newry and Ty r one Naviga ti ons (cont , d) . additi,anal expense of £5', 000 , under the superintend ence of the . sac1 e Engineer .

I n 18 28 t-Ir . Al~xander Nimmo hav i ng been consulted, reported in favour of dee!lenain~ the natur1;1l channel of the river, so as to se,c1:-re ~4 fee~ deptn at neap tides all the way W) to Newry .

Fo r !!1is his estimate was £98 ,568 . In 1830 Rennie , · Xillaly , and oro1-:nrigg agreed generally in their Renorts as to the pro,wiety of makin;; a c anal from Fathom to· the deep water a t Doyle I s Hole, with a ship loc k th ere, and the dee nenin- of the nat ural c hannel at . a rr ow Wate r, as r ecommended by Rennie .

In t he year 1831 t he Newry Navigat i on Company was incorporate d by Act of Parli ament, and they were authorised t o levy tolls on condi tio n of their expend ing not less than £80 ,000, in seven yea rs, in keeping the worl':s in rei;,air, and in the extension and improvemen t of the J:avigation , or in default , t he works to revert t o t he Commission ers of Inland Eavi;;ation , on nayment of their value to the Company . It appears that up to 1848 nearly £50 , 000 were expended by the Company in deepening and widening the channel of the ri ver fro'll Doyle ' s Hole to Na r row Wate r, and from thence t o Warren Point, that a steam dredge had been purchased for that purpose , and that a contract had been entered into a'llounting to £40 , 000 fo r extending the canal along the western side of t he river, from Fa t hom to Doyle ' s Ho le, and t he erection of a sh ip lock , all of whi ch have been since executed , The canal has been exten ded one mile and ~: half_f rom, locK Fathom - the old loc k t he re tak en up, and t ne V1ct~r1a 1 John .

•,r ?Y ~d designed by Sir John Rennie, and superintend Ram say Civil Eno-inee r was opened for traffic in t':le yea r e s below and a - half mil · t 1 n th~ river three 1850 , a't a po in i 76 feet soundin,,. th , -I . :: . _ -o, , e re _s 1,ewr y , known as Doyle s Hole , wne r e affordi TI" sa fe anchor ag e. t o vessels wai ting fo r tned op~mnb feet w:- e , aving of th -, k . , · h is 220 feet , lon g and 50 il 1 int o the canal, e _oc , ,mic rino- tides . Th e 17 feet 9 inc'1es of water . on tne u ppe r s 0- f' and 7 feet on the lower sill a~ low_ w~i~~ ~0 ~~isting of ma ssive escr ipf r om ' the neighbourho od of masonr y is of a very superior st0 · t f £25 000 ne, ime gr anite blocks with some l !!h~"~~; a~d teak; the ?arlingford . th: whole was e r~cte~ O includ ing two pa ir of gates ma e estimate of the latter was £3 , 500 .

0

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0

O

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~ewry and Tyrone N3viza ti ,ns (cont ' d ) .

T'.1e ne\~ rart of t'.1e canal is 140 feet wide at water s-.irf_ace, ann dO fE;_ct_ wide for the r e:na inder of the distance to t :ie e ntr 3nce or tne Albert Basin at Eewry which does not ad~ it ves sel s ?f mo re t han 14 feet d r auzh t, ;ende ring it necessa r y t o l ighten t:iem in the canal. where the de nth is 17 feet . Fr ow Vi ~tori~ Loe:, to l!a rrenpoint Roads , a di~ t:rnce of t wo and one - third miles, shoals of rock and sand have been remov e d by b las ti ng and d r edging , and rive r walls c onstructed , confini ng , and in som e pa rts enl a rgi n~ , the t idal sc our .

The Be lfas t Raih;ay com:riet es with the i'1e1-iry Canal to Portadown , r unnil'1g close alongs i de in nany places; ho 1: 1ever , the com•nun icati'1::'. by means of Lough i eagh with the Ulste·,• , Coal I sland , and Laga n C3nels , e nables this naviga tion to ma intai n the strug '.'. le . The tonnage re zis t er ente re d sea1·rnrds , on an averao- e of t:1e vea rs 1858 and 1859 , was 78, 051 t ons , and t he rec:ipts f r om.ballast and tolls, both sea and inland , amounted averagely to £6 , 074 .

With refere nce to th e attainment of the obje ct wh?:ch a t y the out se t u romot ed the undertaking of the Tyrone a'1d 1.e'.1r 1 the su.pplying_ o~ :C,1:1-bli,.. w~ t l-i cro.3,1 3, 1 .t_ 3uuears that in 174$ a c omnany , co ns istin:; of ~ fei· .. ,-.e _tn

:~avigations ~ naffiely

local nro~rie tors. was forille d , and a 1•. r . John ?letcner , an, was br ou::;ht '?V':lr l wno f, Enr l; s'n a·entleman, of a re a t exnerience, abilities o ' t f o o -- · ne gre a t c_ap . - :- :- t' 1 on examination was so c onv ince d o the D=1 -la ss ~nd Stewartst o,,m collieries t h a t ne EJofne~ ' ~e uart nershin and sent miner s and a rt ifice rs from ng~an · ana rlrnd by a rivulet · ·' · l ,:00 'ards in . put up a lar ge water engine , wo constructed a sough o r unde r g round_ dr ain , . ;, ,, ro~ed to be len::,;th, but these mean s of unwa ter ~~~ e~a~rParlia ment in 1784 inadequa te, a sum of £2 , ooo was _g~ ~ "souir os for the nur no se to Joh n ~taples~ and Jam:s Caul{i~~:d :rom- a~ ±nGlish manufa ct urer O

•

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of erecting a sveam eng~ne? ~b ~; a reement by t he o.re>uc::ht of

This was ur otably the g wno was delayed in fulf i llinu _hipower t f . himofmill .. ~- seaso n depriving :--t. Ir e l and · and the fac o vne first steam engine introdu~ed ~n . ~" wholl v' de pendent on wate r a factor y of t ha t des cr: ptio n e:h ut bran~h of manufa cture had power, shows t he sta ge "o whi ch " a at t h e time a rrive d in Eneland . failures may be summed up by .

The c a t alo gue of s~ccessive Secretary t o the Dir e ctorsthe re po rt of Mr . Franc i s Tren~~ ' t Board that t he price of coal General in 1812 . He info:me~., a er ton. and the les s ee . at the pit was sixteen shill~nuf 0 twenty - six or twenty- ei g):t . expected to ge t them to Dublin, f two shilline;s !'e r to n . t.-ir 0 lessee the of st shillinos includi n~ the_bounty t~e int e r e Trench di~ not consider it was

f

Newry and l'y ro ne Naviga tions (cont , d ) . t send t hem there, as they were of a very ind · ff ty , /!~alt s:1all, swift,. and without any of t he bitum i ~ou e r en O . actual t-,,i· al s ~ua ,i Y m_ake them adhere . He found fro!!l , ac a nouse in . . d t · · hb tne neiG _our~~'? ? ha t a ~ooo fire could not be made of them wi ;hou t t lle aooi tion ~~ tu~•f; _a t anothe r house they burned En ~llsh, co a-1 , at tln:"/ shillings pe r t on , which he considered was :;m en ch~ ape r, be 7ng _better . rla vi ng been informed that there was a superi'?r descriptio? at Coal Island, he visited that pla ce: the p it wa~ about oO feet dee p , and the seam r epor ted to ?e six feet, but it c ould not be r a ise d large ; on the whol e 1t Has by far t he worst c oal he ever saw and in his opinion · ' was not wo rth wo r king .

At a later pe ri od the field was occupied by two co,npanies , and not ably by the Hibernian hining Company in 1829 , but a s this br anch of t he sub ject has been taken uu by Si r Ri cha rd Griffith , in his Survey of the Tyrone Coal District, it would be more than superfluou s to pursu e it further he re .

More details may , at first sight, pe rh ans , appear t o have been entered int o with re ference t o t h e Tyrone and Newr y Naviga ti ons than the i mme diate interest of the subj ect deser ves, but their c hequered nr ogress is s o illustr at ive of the emp iric al chaiacter ~f t he engineering of the time, that in an _ historic al point of view a pa rticul ar notice ~f t~e pro& ress 01 these undertak i n g s , in conriexion with~ t h e pro r e,s si?na l pe r sons emuloyed can not be consi dered out o, place, tne mor e so a~ it ha s been ' cus tomary to attribute the failure of e v~ry ~h rng in Ireland to native incomne t ency , or yet 1-1o rse, t ,o ~obbingl :':'e reas the fact s show that the· unskilfulne ss was not t,1eirs, ano f' coat th e s pirit of enterp rise was ma rre d by the general want o. professiona l knowledge .

Carlin ~:('.Qrd Lo.JJ£h..

1 · 1 t e xtendin~ eight miles from nd affording uuwa rds This lough is a natura in_e ' . t rapid subject to ~{it ' Poin en, r Har o t ntrance e the bar at its of one thous a nd a cres of good ~~cn~ra!e tlie 1.10 urne mountains . r un of tide , and to h~ a vy sq_ua s :;.rga t~in ·,,iude;e and Acco r ding to the nauti c a~ su v{y ~~e s~undings at low water of bar t he rise of springs Lieutenant i"razer, made in~ 1 3-t' spring tides a re but 9 fee" on n~ e however t':le bar is 18 feet, and of neal?s 12 feet . \~nt of the :l.ough , ha ving not crossed there a re six miles in ex 0

a

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1859- 60- 61.

Kewry and Tyrone Havieations (cont ' d) .

Carlingford Lough : less than four fathoms depth , the remainin g two miles t o Wa rren Point are navigable at tide time by vessels of 18 feet drau~ht .

The entire of the na vi gation from Lough lieagh to Carlin ~ford bar is about thirty - two miles in length .

0

Wa rr en Point li es six and a half miles below N"ewry .

A tidal basin was constructed there , at the public expe ns e, in 1767_, but has since been enlarged, and quays built by t he 01me r of tne soi l , the ;,iarquis of An <; lesea, who levies dues for their use . A patent slip has also been built, capable of adm itting vessels of 750 tons, being the tonnage of the largest steamers of whi ch Wa rren Point is the station .

Carlingford Bay in its position, half - way between Kingsto,,m and Belfast Lough , distant from each other 100 miles , offers gre at advant ages fo r r efuge in easterly winds , if its bar were removed , the practicability of which , by dredging , has been shO\·m by the soundings made in 1835 by 1-;r , Ramsay , Re sident Bngineer , who re ported it to be an original formation, comp osed of blue clay, mixed wi t h moderately- s ized boulders . ,-lr . Ilobe rt Tutnill , the present Engineer of the Newry N"a vi gation , st ates that a passage of about half a mi le in length , of easy access, and le ading into four fathoms water, could be re adily ma de by dredging . A deep pa ss age through the bar was discovered v1hen tne Commi ssione r s for inquiring into Harbours of Refuge were examining it in 1859 , but it is tortuous , and a squa r e- ri gg ed vessel would find it diffi cult to beat in, unless in a leading 1~n~, nor could it be attemp ted, under any circ = stances , at n1 gnt .

Captain Washington , R. N. , has ob served, in the second Rep ort of the Commissioners on Tidal Harbours , that the render ing of this bay a harbour of refuge, by deepening the bar to at least 18 feet at low water of springs, would be well 1, or th a l ar ge_expenditure, on a cc ount of the very_ great numbe r of vesse1s navigating the Irish Sea , and having no other harbour between Kingstm-m and Be lfa st Lough , unless, pe rhap s, Strangford , that can be taken i n an easterly ga le , but under such circumstances the latter would be di ffi cul t of a cc ess , the r e ar e not , however , wanting availa ble intermediate positions on the coast , as at Skerries county Dubli n , Ardgla s s and Clogher Head; the t wo former couid be mad e of gr eat service , at a moderate cost ; and Clogher Head , within eight miles of the bar of Carlingford ,

1859 - 60- 61.

Newry and Tyrone iavigatio ns (cont ' d) .

Carlingf or d Lough : possesse s c onsidera ble capabili ties for an asylum harbour , a large sum , howe v er , would be required to r ende r it ef.i'e ctive .

Judg ing from Norie ' s sa iling direc ti ons for the I ri sh Sea , the approa ch t o Ca rlint; ford Bay, outside the ba r, is beset with dang er; it has, howeve r, been again brought into notice a s a ha rbou r of re fuge by the Commis si one rs for inquiring into harbours of that des cripti on in 1859 . They recommend t hat a channel, six hundred feet in wi dt h , should be dre dg ed through the bar, at a cost of £ 50 , 000 .

1870 , Belfa st and Prov ince of Uls ter Pos t Offi ce Di rect ory, Vol . I, Part X, p . 157 .

The Port admi ts vesse ls of 1000 t ons t o Wa rr ennoi nt f ive miles from th e town , where l ar ge r ve s sels r emain by.th os e dr awing 15 feet of water ca r go up t he sh i p canal t o t he Alber t Basin Ne wry • Neagh , . Ba r ges :ply by _the Newry Canal Navig ation t o Lough have on thirt y- two miles dist ant inlan d . The Newr y Navi ga ti t he managemen t of the port and canal , the l atte r of whi ch exten ds al ong t h e west side of t he river .

Above seems to have been copie d with out al ter ati on from Hende rson ' s Be lfa st and Pro vince .o f Uls t er Di rect or y of 1852, excen ti n~ that the l atter ha s an addit ional fi ve wo r ds foll; wing "r ive r " abo ve. The y r ead ".aru Li.s. ..Jm. LI:~ The income of the port in t he comp leted" . See p . 607 . previ ou s (ye ar) 1850 amou nted t o £5 , 000 ar ising f rom canal dues on tonna ge , 1/- per ton inwar ds and l d . outwa r ds .

<lo .

187.c , Newri ensis, p . 253 , The Improv ement and Water Bill cam e before the Commi ttee of t he House of Commons , appointed to consider it on Friday , 19t h Hay .

The following app e are d to op pos e it - the Trustees of arl Ki lmorey , the Honourable John Henry Knox, Viscount Newr y , t he Gr and Jury of Down , and some owners and occupiers .

I n add it ion to these , the Newry Town Commissioner s and the Navigati on Company we r e nomi nal op ponents , but their object was merely to have som e clauses which had not bee n f r amed a s they de sired , alte re d .

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1877 , Sh aw ' s Touri sts Pictur esque Guide to Carlin gfo rd Bay and t he Count y Down . . ?ri ginal ly the navig ation of Newry appea r s to have been of tri fl:1-ng_ servic e to, its comme rce . The rive r prese nted so many obs tr uct i ons that tne ~assag e was diffic ult or impra cticab le exce pt fo: vesse ls of. incon side r a)lle size . The custom s of Newr y were r e ceiv ed at Carlin gford as tnat ancien t t0vm from its pr oximi ty to t~e dee p sea, and the de pth of water in t he bay contig uous to it was found a conv enien t st ation for shi ps of l ar ge burt h en . But t he situat ion of Newr y being much better adap te d fo r inlan d tr ade, its navi gati on was i mprove d by means of a canal , so as to admit coasti ng and seabor ne vesse ls up to the town ; and immed iately its commerce be gan to increa se . The Canal - which conne ct s Ca rlin gfo r d Lo ugh with the Up per Ban and Lough Neagh - it s cour se r unning north along the bottom ofin the fertil e valley whi ch se par ate s Armagh from Down , form i ng many pl ac es a bound ary li ne betwee n t hose counti es was cons tructe d by order of the I rish Government under an Act of the I rish It wa s begun in 1730 and vesse ls Parl iamen t 3 Georg e II . t hrough it with co als fr om th e Tyr one Collie ries in 1741. 'l'h e cana l at t ha t time opene d int o the t ide oppos ite the Custom House Old Quay at the South end of Newry . The cut from Newry the An exten si on two mi les near t o Fa t hom was comol ete d in 1763 . sea was const ructed in 1845- 47 and t he sea locks are now four miles south of Newr y and one f rom t he head of the lough . When t hi s exten sion was comole ted, the canal was deepen ed so as to allow steam ers of 600 tons burt hen and othe r l ar ge vesse ls t o re ach Newr y and t he prese nt exten sive docks we re fo r med for t hei r u se .

(Ment i on of tidal pa rt of Newry river being fo rmerly obstru cted by natura l depos i ts of stones and mud and remova l of a small island at Na rrowat e r) .

g:z.

1886 , _Jssett ' s Count y Down , pp . 79 - 83 .

Newr y Na vi ea ti o n .

~ewry ~ a d n:ade so mi.:ch p r ogr ess after t he advent of Wi lliam .. tnat i t e c l~;i s eo Car_li nero r d . 1'he Gusto s head - oua r te rs were re s10~ed t o H !rom tne r e i n 1726 . Coll i eries were then at Hor'., in tnE: Count y r yrone , and a propos it ion was made to bu i ld. a canal from hewr y ~o Lough Heagh . An Act was pass ed in 1730 for this pur pose, anCi t he c anal wa s opened in 174 1. By this mo ve the t r ad e of t he port wa s g r ea tly be nefite d . I n 1755 Parl i ament ap~ropria t ed shallow £4 , 000 for t he improvement of t he river , which was t h en t hat ves sels o f twenty t on s c oul d not r ea ch the quays in safety .

By va r i ou s Ac t s of Pa rli am e nt the power s for the ·manaee,nent of t he canal we r e c hang e d , unt il it c ame at l a st t o be under st ood tha t t h e wor k was only to be su ccessfully ac comp lished by pla ci n8 i t in th e ha nds of a l oc a lly - constitute d bo dy . I n 18 29 by vi rt u e of an Act of Pa r l i ament , t he c ont r ol wa s give n to t he Newr y Navisa ti on Compa ny , consisting o f the ifar quis of Downshire, Ea r l of i<ilmorey , and oth er n amed , a nd of t h e sub scribe r s to t h e st o ck . The gi ft of t he water - way f r om Ca rling for d Lough vi a Newr y and Port adown to Lough Neag h , a bout 36 mi les, wa s ma de on cond it ion s t ha t t h ey should r ai se a capi tal of £80 , 00 0 t o be exp e nded in i mp r oveme nt . Th e system wa s very much run down a t the time . Si nc e th e n t he r e ha s been exuende d unde r this head ove r £ 200 , 000 . Th e Comp any bor rowed £42 , 000· fr om the gov er nment , a t f r om 5 t o 4-,} pe r cent ., re:p ayi'.'g £6 000 with in a ue r iod of t wenty yea rs . I n 1876 a r eor gam za t1on of th~ finan c ia l sy~tem took p l a c e . A sinki ng fund ~as es~ablish ed , ur ov i d i na fo r t he ext inction of th e ba lance i n t h i r t y - five y ea rs, by an a n~ua l payment of £1 780 . Th e f i rs t div i den d , two pe r ce nt . , on t he ua i d up c ap i ta l, £66 , 000, in sh a re s of £50 ea ch 1 wa s t hen paid , No vemb er 1 8 76 , and t he se cond of one pe r ce nt . , in t he . following May maki ng a tot al f or th e yea r of 3 pe r c enl . Si nce then t he div idends pa i d t o shareholders have averaged 32 per cent ~ 1 886 t he ent ire de bt to t he Gov e rnment , unde r the olo I n Januar Act, wa s l .31 ooo'. Th e Alb ert Ba s i n wa s cons tructe d u n? e~ the old rt c onsis t s of 3¾ a cres . Owrno to ncthe { f £8 00 0 Act a t . a bar at the e nt r a e th • , a co s o e r e i ~ t h n 12 fee t 6 inch e s building of t he s e wa ge aque d uct , lled ""'he Old gh . a hi ch pre vent s vesse l s of Tg r ea t e· r · ndr 1au basin W •· no w ea f The Newr y naviaation t ·mb; r h e or~ g i r om getting int o it , Basin" is ch ie fly us e d f or s~ortf g og e/ f r om · warrenuoint t o t h e at present c onsi st s of a nav ~ga e dr iv hal f Engl i sh, · of a ship Vi cto ri a Loc k a t !at~om , a mi l e a n t~e com' any , f r om Fathom t o t he canal 1 bu il t by Wi l l i am Da r gan fo r t hr ough Newr y fo r ve ss els nd canal f r om Newr y t o ~lbe r t Ba.s in t h re e mile s, a quayag '.1 nd a~ ~n~!na l to Lough Ne agh i s unde r ctr awing 10½ f e e t o f wa t e r 1 a h . us ed inl and and steam- uower · sh Engli , miles 8 Por t adown 1 Horse - power · · c t i· on . an o th.e r j u' risdi ck isis 6l fee t l on g ' and 1 4 f e e t · 1 t owa r d the s e a . The shortesi t ~0 is 220 f ee t l ong and 50 f~e t .

I n 1884 t he Navi gati on "'1de . The Vic tori a Loc k at a i~ bl ocks · · "'1de . It i s c on structe d of g r an e

~o

r

1886 .

Newr y Navigat io n . oopeny secu,red a new ~et of Parliament enablino it to cut a cl:annel in t,1e ~ewr y River an~ Ca:lingford Lough , for a distance Th e navigation was depending on a tidal 01 ove : t h r 7e mi_les . river i n w~ich ~nere w'.'.s only a depth of " feet 6 inches at low wate r, sprin g tides . 1t will be increased to 7 feet t h r ouohout The Ne wr y Navigation Company borrow;d a widt h of 120 fee t . £40,000 from t he Gov ern~ent for this work , at 4· per c ent . ; paym ent is t o commence in 1890, and the principal is to be cle are d off in 20 years by yea rly instalments : The bill provides tha t t he Company shall at no t i me declare a dividend of more than 5 per ce nt . Any surplus from t hat amount is to go toward a reductio n of the t oll, wh ich unde r the old Act was ls . ld . per ton The di r e ct or s of the Navigation register . No ch a r g e on c a r go . rs . The r e is a separate Commissione Harbour officio exre a Company Boar d known as the Carlingford Lough Commiss i oner s , 1 2 i n number , 2 of whom a r e named by t he Newr y Town Commissioners , 2 by the Newr y- Naviga ti on Company, and 2 by the Newr y , Dundalk and Greenore It was or ganised under an Act of Parliament :\ail way Comp any . passed in 1864 for the pur pose of having a Nav i gable channel cut through the bar of Carlingford Lough . The work was done at a cost of £80 , 000 r aise d by a lo an f rom the Government , the interes t of whi ch is pa rtly se cur ed by _a ~mall ~axon vessels us i ng the channel . The p rese nt trade is insufficient to pay the interest in full .

1888 .

Ba s se tt ' s County Arm a gh , p , 23 , Newr y Canal .

Two naviga ble wate r ways facilit ate the carryin g t r ade of t :1e count y . The most i mporta nt separa tes the County Do1•m f r om Armagh . It r uns f r om the tidal basin at Fathom below Newry to Lough Neagh , and is se r ved by the Bann and Newry River . The dep t h of the wate r is suffici ent to float lighter s of 70 tons bur den . Di r ec t commu nication with Belfas t i s secured by means of the Lagan Canal via Lough Neagh . Coal , gr ai n , timber and gene r al me r chandi se form the cargoes . The Newry Canal was the fi r st of i ts kind comple ted in Ireland .

1388.

Bassett ' s County

r nagh, p . ~3 .

Two n_avigable. water-wa y s facilitate the ca rrying trade of the county. Tne more ~mportant separates t he County Down from Armagh .

It runs fro1'.1 the tidal basin at Fat hom, below ii ewry, to Lough Neagh, and ls served by the Bann and the Newry river . The depth of water is sufficient to float lighters 70 tons burden. Direct communication with Belfast is secured by means of the Lagan Canal , via Lough Neagh , Coal, grain, timber and gene ral me rchandise for ,n the cargoes . The Newry Cana l was the first of the kind co ~p leted in Ireland . About fifty years ago connection was effected between Lough Erne and Lough Neagh, by means of the Ulster Canal . This passes for a con siderable distance along the weste r n and north - western borders of Ar.uagh .

It is being largely taken advantage of at p resent by some of the leading merchants of the City of Armagh . The shipping place is at Blackwatertown, distant four miles . It is expected t ha t the Ulster Canal system will be soon very much i mproved by the Ulster Canal Company who receive possession of it t his year 1888 - under special Act of Parliament .

1902 .

I relan d : Indu stria l and Agri cultu ral , p . 118 .

The New r y Nav igati on : This n a viga tion is c a rried from Wa r renpo i nt to Newry byr: t he ship c anal whi ch ad.ni t s vess els draw in g 15 feet of e wate it thenc e no r t hwar d by ca nal to Porta down ; 16f miles abov cont inue d joins the Lo wer Bann , in the bed of which rive r it 28is abov e Lough to Loug h Ne agh . The summit leve l is 76 feet , and the ilewry Neagh . The Newr y Nav i gat ion was purc has ed in 1901 , by the Newry iia r bour and Navi gat i on Trus t . I n 1881 , the share s of falle n as Nav i ga ti on Company were wort h £55; in 1900 t hey hadthey were l ow as £20 , and at some t hing li ke the last figur e pur chas ed .

97 1902.

-11 1.

Irel and : Ind ust ria l and Ag ricu ltur al, pp. 110

I)Je Upper and Lower Bann Nav iga tion s, of a misnomer The "Up per -Ban n Nav iga tion " is som ethi ng wat er riv er which Bl ack as it is ap plie d to tha t sec t i on ofn the wi th the Ul ste r Can al at lies belo w the poi nt of its jun ctio gh Neagh, The dis tan ce Moy, and con nec ts tha t can al wit h Lou 7 mil es an d 35 cha ins er, from Moy to Lough Neagh is by watobs tru ctions on thi s par t. of There are no loc k s or art ific ial nta ine d by the Upper the Bla ckw ater , The nav iga tion is mai fro m the ir ent ire Bann Nav iga tio n Tru ste es, out of fun ds r ai sed dis tric t by loc al tax atio n, era ine wit h Lough The Lower Bann Navi gati on con nec ts Col ins , of whi ch 3 mil es 12 Neagh. Its le ngt h is 32 mil es 32 cha er, and t he r emainde r cha ins are lak e, 26 mil es 40 cha ins riv fee t in l ength by 20 fee t can al. The siz e of t he l ock s is 130 cil is 8 fe et. The Lower in wid th. The dep th of wat er on t he wate ls r fall ing into Lough Bann is the onl y out let for all the Lower Bann wer e, t oge the r Neagh. The wor ks of t he Upp er and Com mis sion ers of with tho se of Lough Nea gh, exe cut ed by a the e work, bet wee n Pub lic Work s as bot h a nav i gat ion andexpendrseai nag for the thre e the ye ars 184 5 and 1859 at a tot al made by the Com mis sion ers of nav i gat ion s, acc ord ing to a retu rn pub lic money. The £10 6,17 5, of whi ch £69 ,07 8, was a gra ntratof es. A bra nch of the nty bala nce has bee n rep aid out of couall el to the Lower Bann on Nor ther n Cou ntie s Rai lwa y run s par six mil es for its who le the eas t, at an ave rag e dis tan ce of y run s par alle l to it on len gth , and the Der ry Cen tral Rai lwa h it for tra ffic , A rail way the wes t, bot h rail way s compet ing witPor non e·. The wor k s of is also pro jec ted from Bal lym ena t o1859 tgle to two bod ies of tru ste es the Lower Bann were han ded ove r in the nav tion works the oth er one whose dut y it was to mai nta in dra ina geiga works onl y, and \olhose whose dut y it was to ma inta in the bot h the Upper and Lower aut hor ity ext end s ove r the dra ina ge of the Nav igat ion and Dr a inag e Bann, They are cal led r e spe ctiv elymai nta ine d by loc al tax atio n, Tru stee s, Bot h set s of works are er tra ffic as re gar ds the sup plem enti ng the rec eip ts from wat Lor d Monc k's Commission 8lCpenditure of the Nav iga tion Tru steec s.view of the pos sib ilit ies took in 1882 a dis tin ctl y pes sim isti tion . "The ave ra ge ann ual of dev elop ing tra ffi c on thi s Nav iga tion for the fiv e ye ars eicp end itur e on the Lower Bann Nav iga 15s , 8d. The ave rag e ann ual ending 30t h Jun e 188 0 was £1, 154 ts, etc . for the same per iod rec eip ts from toi ls, wha rfag e, ren plie ~ by an ann ual Vere £93 14s . ld, The def icit has bee nof sup the adJ oin ing cou ntie s.

Pre sen tme nt made by the gra nd jur ies wor ks hav e bee n These figu r~s show tha t the nav iga tion

9B .

1902.

Ill,§ unper

and Lower Bann Navigation,

practically maintained and the expenses connected therewith paid , not out of funds derived from traffic on the canal and r iver, but by local rates. We are satisfied from the evidence submitt ed to us that there is no reason to expe ct any considerable increase in the traffic. The testimony on this point is, i n our opinion, conclusive."

99.

1906.

Commissi oners Reports , Vol . I, Appendi x 2.

Evidence of Hr . Geo . A. Stevenson , Commissioner of Public Wor ks , 21 Ma rch , 1906 .

(1) Newr y Navigat i on . Canal from Lough Nead (Whitecross Point ) to Newry thence by tidal cha nnel t o Wa rrenpoint 1 25 miles . Be gun by the Commissioners of Inland Na vi gation , under the Act of 1729 ; handed over t o a local corporation in 1787 , vest ed in Dire ctors of Inland N~ vi ga tion in 1800 , transferred in 1829 to Newr y Nav i gation Comp any ; now under a Trust to whom it was sold under an Act of 190;: .

Original cost .

Expended by ])_irectors of Inland navi. gation prior to 1812 (includi ng £23 , 326 as a public grant) £38 , 326 .

Expended by Newry Navigat io n Company bet ween 1832 and

1842 .

(A) Subsc ribe d private ly £70 , 353 , Public Loan £42 , 000 . ( B) Between 1885 and 1891 Loans £55 , 000 Total £;:05,679 .

NU!llber of locks 14 .

100

1907 . second Repo rt of the Royal Commiss i on on Canals and Inland Nav i gation .

Newry Nav i gation .

Length - Wa rrenpoin t to Newry - tidal 7 miles .

Newry to lvh it e coat Point 18 miles .

To tal Length 25 mile s .

Origi nal cost £ 205 , 679 .

Number of loc ks 14 .

Snallest loc k 69 • 3"; W. 15 ' ; Dh . 5 ' 4 11 • Lar gest boat using L . 62 11 ; w. 15 1 ; Dh . 5 1 2" .

Max . Lo ad poss ible 80 tons .

Usual l oad 45 - 80 ton s .

Total rise 58 1 3".

Headway (mi n . ) 9 ' 3".

Shi p canal ves se ls 600 to 3 , 000 tons .

lo I

1950 .

Inland Waterways of Great Brit ain , No . 136 , p . 396 _

l'kl:lrv Canal : Authority :

Newry Newry . Port and Ha rbour Trust , Har bour Office ,

From and To :

(a) Ship Canal . Victoria Lock in Carlingford Lough to Albert Bas in, Newry . (b) Barge Canal. Albe rt Basin Newry to Whitecoat Point on t he Upp~r Bann Rive r .

Distance :

(a)

3½ miles .

(b) 18½ miles .

220 ft . 9 ins .

69 ft . 3 ins .

50 ft . 9 ins .

15 ft . 0 ins .

14 ft . 6 ins .

5 ft . 0 ins.

Unlimited .

9 ft . 0 ins .

Maximum Dimensions fo r Craft Using Wate r way :

Ship Canal Barge Canal ( Ship Canal ( Beam : r ge Canal Ba ( ( Dr aught : Ship Canal Barge Canal ( (He ad r oom : Ship Canal Barge Canal (

Locks :

Ship Cana l, 1 (Victoria Sea Lock) .

Barge Canal, 13 .

Towing Path :

Th r oughout Wate rway .

Tolls :

These are charged on Registered Tonnage .

(Length :

General Rema r ks :

The Ship Canal is the only means of access t o the port of Newry f r om the sea and it lies parallel to the Newry River, which at low tides is an extensive slob land .

In years gone by there was traffic between Newry and Portadown by water , but this is now a thin<> of the past , and any traffic by wate r to Portadown goes by way of the Lagan Navigat ion _ and Lough Neagh .

There are 10 locks between Newry ahd the Head Level and three locks from the Head Level t o the Upper Bann River .

-2-;

I 02.

1950 .

Newry Canal .

(cont ' d) .

The feeders to the Head Level are the Tand r agee Feeder on the west side and the Loughb r ickland Feeder on the east side . The t o,.-ms of Poyntz pass and Scarva are on this level.

Special Note :

In recent yea r s no traffic has been offered and the Truste es have so reduced t hei r expend iture on mainten ance that t~e Canal is not now in a condit ion to t ake traffic and steos have been taken to effect its formal abandonment .

Dist an ce Table : Newr y to : Cana l Basin • .

Poyn tzpa ss (10 l ocks fr om N~~ry) Lough Shar k •.

Scarva Bridge Tallyho Locks Madden Bridg e Knock Bridge .. ·· Br a ckagh Lock Bann ) R. with on juncti Whitec oa t Point ( Portad d~m •.

Ent r ance to Lough Neagh

Miles . Furlong s .

2

9

10 12

13

14 16

3 7

17

l5

18

19 28

been 1· nforma ti on has y abandon ed) . ficiall of been ssh pre to going of time (At t he 1 as r eceiv ed t hat t he Bar ge Cana

lo~.

1750 .

I rish Hou se of Commons Journal, 31 Ma rch, 1750 .

The c anal runs into the river Bann at Portado,-m whe r e t here is a wooden bridge low and flat . In time of floods , boats are sometimes obliged to wait for five or six weeks be fore they can pass under the br idge .

The best method to avoid t his delay will be to make a cut of L:'.5 perches with a large arch of stone which cannot be effected at a mode r ate estimate for less than £2 30 , 10s .

The above should be studied in detail also Journal under date 14 Novem ber , 1749 .

o. s. Memoi r s state t ha t above bri dge was swep~ away

in 1754 whereupon a new stone bridge was built on ar y land and the r iver tur ned into it .

lo t:t

19,0.

Inland Waterways of Great Brita in, No.138, p.399

0

Upper Bann Navigatinn1 Autho rity, From and Toi

Distan ce,

Trust ees of the Upper Bann Navig ation Ridde ts Build ings, 49 Doneg al! Place , Belfa st ~ Ap proxim ately half of Lough Neagh and up to the Black water River to Blackwatertown .

lli miles .

Dimensions for Craft Using Waterway.

Not limite d.

(Leng th •• Not limite d.

(Beam •• • , 5 ft. 6 ins.

•• ~Draught. Up to Moy 5 ft.

Up to Blackwaterto ,m 8 ft.

(Headroom

Locks&

Nil.

Bridg es,

Road bridg es and a railwa y bridge .

Towing Path1

None.

Tolls1

None for pleasu re craft.

Maximum

There is very little traffi c south of the entran ce t o the Coalis land Canal .

The main landin g places under the contro l of the Trust ees are Kinnego Harbour and Newpo rt Trench on Lough Neagh .

The abandonment of this canal is under Speci al Note1 consi derati on.

Miles . Furlongs.

Table1 ce Distan Entran ce to Lough Neagh to1 Maghery Ferry (end of artifi cial cut from Lough Neagh ), Junct ion with Coali sland Canal ~ Verne r 1 s Bridg e •• 6 ·• •• •• , Derry galley Ferry 9 Junct ion with Ulste r C;nal (now derel ict) 11 2 Black watert own

General Remarks 1

(D

Tyrone Na vig ati on .

Mo ore •s Lock.

Copy of sto ne in Lock WallSt onvee !~ Yd !;f i~~ 1n tio tre ad , st un ev en ly, s Words sp ac ed mo io or ig in al po sit n,

TH(IS) LOCK W(AS) ERECT(ED) (AND) (FI)NISHED BY ACHESON JOHNST(ON) ESQr CHIEF DI(R) :&:TOR OF ye INLAND NAVIGATION IN ye YEAR 17 49 . JOSEP(H) WETHERBY AND N, BRY(A)N UNDE(R)

tly gin ee r and ap pe ars fre qu en ·Jo se ph Wetherby was an en l, n wi th the Lagan Ca na in ac co un ts fo r work in co nn ec tio ur na ls Vol. XI (Lagan See House of Commons Jo 37 , where hi s widow's 74 0-3 and , 50 7-3 .34 pp ) on ati Na vig lar y is mentioned, re ce ip t fo r he r la te hu sb an d's sa

5""

106

1749 , Tyrone Navi gat ion .

Annaghruore to wnland .

Hoore ' s Lock .

Lock keepe r' s house in good order and inhabited by Mr . J . •l cAlesky . Bridge over the canal at t his point blown up during recent troubles but now (August 1959) repa ir ed .

I n wall of lock t he re is an inscribed st one st ati ng th a t "this loc k was erected and finis hed by Acheson Johnson , Esq . , Chief Director of Inland Naviga ti on in ye year 1749" . Two further lines difficult to read are said to bea r t he naCTe of the contractor .

1749 .

Tyrone Navig ation .

Gortn agoni s townl and .

The doubl e lock in this townla nd is of much intere st and t he c anal is here sDanned by a handsome old brid e erecte d Fortu nately this has been by- passed by a flat i n 1809 . bridge and a s a conseq uence remain s in perfec t preser vati on , where as in most instan ces such bridges ha ve been reduce d in heigh t or demol ished .

There is an inscri bed stone on each side of t h e bridge one states that it wa s erecte d by the Inland ITav i gation the other gives name of build er . On date of my visit ( ugus ~ 20 , 1959 , the light was poor so I made no attemp t to transc ribe them .

1753 , House of Comnon s J ourna l, Vol. IX, p . 1 35 , Tyrone Naviga tion : Resolv ed by Committ e e that the sum of £4 ,ooo be giver: to His Grace Geor ge Lo r d Arc hbishop of Armagh, His Gr ace John Lord Archbis hop of Tua , the Right Honble . rthur Hill, ~sq . the Honbl e . and Rev . Charle s Caulfe ilc. , Clk, and the Rev .

Thomas st aples , to enable them to -nake a waggon uay and to carry on a coal work a t Dr ur:1glas s in the County Tyrone .

1753 , ifouse of Com·non s Journal, Vol. I X, p . 94 .

( 2 lov . 1753) .

Tyrone Nav i gat ion : , Petition~<:>f . George , Archbishop of Armagh , etc . settin" rorth that pe c J. t 1oner s in order to supuly the city of Dublin and other pa rts of i;h1s kingdom with coals from Ty r one by means of the canal to Ne wr y which is now near finished at publ i c expense were p revailed upon in the year 1749 to enter into a partne r ship wher eby they obliged themselves to constitute a stock of :i:10 1000 for the opening and workin~ of several collieries in that county .

0

I n pursuance thereof they have expended near £8 , 000 chiefly i n comp leting one coal wor'.-: at head of sai<' canal and are in readiness to deliver from 800 to 900 tons uf coal pe r week when said canal n3vigation is co.,,pleted .

That uetit ioners . now bola from the See of . r~a;;h t!'le colliery of Drumglas T• • ·· · but as said colliery lies t!'l~ee mi les distant from navi gation it will be ne~essar~ to ~a!:e a \·Jaggon way for les sening the ex9ense of lana carriage .

Such a wagon way it is imputed will cost not less than £6 , 000 which the petitioners are assured they ~~st lay oui;.

before the said colli eries can be wrought to !11ect ot~~ruise the pr ice of coals would be too high for the wblin ,nar,::et •

110.

1758 , House of Commo ns J our na l , Vol . X. Tyrone Nav i ga tion .

Lar ge Comm i ttee , a ll name d , appo i nted to :1 . Enqu ire i nto the st a te of the coll ieri es in the c ount y of Tyr on e and what money gran ted by Pa r l i amen t ha s been e)..-_nended on sa,1e .

2 . Als o t he st a te o f navi gati on · n the cot:n ty ,

3. And to r ep ort t he re uno n t o t,ie House .

\II .

Jour1:::ls oft e , use 0 f -

com •ons , Vol . x, ,n .B~J-B4B .

., . .

T e CoLni ttee anp o i nted ~0 e i~t~ c~e state of th~ colli&ries i~ t:1~ couDtv' ; rvnq~i re ana ,1,...,at.. uonev ., ro .e, . .. o . 1 t . , _-• . ;; r ar. eo oy :'.}rll.J ent , '13.S been ex')ended -· J-; , . as sa...,e "t'.:' on ~ ~,, ;·;, :ilso the st:ite of trie na i-ation ·· -·- c.,ac cou!' :1 ~no 1f a:1y ~ · · 1 · f . =~a . :::t art'ler i 1rro~_eillents ,re :1ecessny to be ~~ad; _c .. ret~, ~ as :Lso ~nvJ ~'le c?ntract 1ade for t.•e repairin:; and {ee ~n~_" ,e sa e in or ae r: n·ve met nursuant to order and exa~inea sever:::l ra,e r s re lative thereto as also sev~r 1

"·:..tne~ses --;.n t---,e nost sole n ·Jan~er : a~d 'n. . ve cii rected ~; to

re_ort as Iol lows .

I n t:~e first _ .!.a ce y •Ur Cornmittee ena·Ji reo into t'1e ceeci of cont r · et ,ade bet1-1een the ·.10st revereno Georc:e lord a rch 'cishop of .rcaag:1 , 9 rima te of all Irelanci , the most reverend Jahn , lord :ircr:bishop o f Tuacn , the rig'1t honourable .\rt'iur nill , Zsq ; t!1e hon)ur able and r eve r enc' Cna r les C:wlfeild , and the reverend Thom as St:inles of the one oa rt. and the hon,urdil c cor pora ti on for :-' romotinz t he inland navi:;ation of Irela10, of the othe r pa rt : bearing da t e t he ninth day of ~a rch , one t!'lousanci seven hunc-red awl fifty four . r:,y w'iich deed of contract i.t annea rs, that the said lor d a rc 'ibisho:) of Ar.aagh , lor d arc:risho~ of Tuam , ri ~ht honoura ble Arthur 1ill , ~sq . ; t'Je honourable 8 nd r e veren d Ch a r les Caulfeild , ano revere nd fhomas staples, did , by indent~d articles be~rins ~a te th'.' , first day of June one t'Jousana seven huncl re c and rorty- ei~nt , enter into a oar tA e rshin for the wor1.:ing of several col.'.1<;nes by the~ helr in the c ounty ~ Tyron~; and th~t t~~ ~;i~ . :o r oo r :ition f o r 1 .r 0 110 t 1 ne: t.'.1e in.!a no navigation, '?r ::._ e_ana , .. did-bar~ain and a~ree t o ,:: ive t he sa.id p3 rt ne rsn~p c:: t..~e ;~: or

five hund red and eic-hty nouncls to mac:e such re,air __in _.. c U!Jon _ tne cana l in the c o~nty of Tyrone as we re then tha~g~t necessarv (exclus i ve of suc i'J i,;or·o:s as were ?ontrac_cea to oe )· all Fh, ch \·:ort.:s .:iy 'llo re · t . · · · f inisned by cheson J ohns 0 ;- , ~s q . ' --d ·t- ~he "~oresaid deed f'urt'1e r particuL:rly sp!Jea r by a sc nedule a~nex~tne~s~in th th ?~ ; 0 ; ;re in·c;nsiderat o: contr:ict . And also at e_sai 81 3 '?r~!! ~t~ five ··oun0s ~nnually , ?0nt r'Jct T1itn t '.le cor p;> r ~1.o1:

:S i"

;:or,_ of t-1e sum of one nuncre~ ariol~ti~e- t11eret0 in re .-,ai:- :'or •,a ,:ee_ the sa ie ard all wor -~ ~~d - 31 so to •,a, t'le loc'.c-

t ,<: s. ~ce of twe ~y ?ne ye:;tr\ 1. . · .,.'-~f:_,er,.. s3 l ~ ries ou r1 n~ t 1.....

~0UOrs €~ Cl

.e ,

3

; 0

·

nti n:C to twenty Lve

ye3 r .

int o t he exec~t ion of s:id contr- ct, r eno rt r.i'" rle by so e o,. t1.1.n ~r st;e s be~~-"" rote t •e Fixteentn a:y _D- . r; ftv seven , to ne l:11 c\ ' n:·v · · ,.tior, f r n 'l

112 ,

1758, Tyrone fa vig a tion : certai n oak t r ee nea r t he col l i e · in t he county of Ty r one is ;;rv nes,, t o eh; Blac~ \-later t he pa rticu l a rs c ontain~ d in t he mu,cn d out 0.1. r epair, and that exec ut ed a ccordin o- t o c ont r -etszn: ule are not perfo r me 6. or of t he House , you~ Commi tte: h · v h nd f:i r t 'ie better i nfo r :1ation T' • t ~ a e e re inserte d a col)y of t he a--1f O- e sai. o.· c on f r ta ·ct, with t ':1° s chedule · annexed · - as .. ·~ - tl1e reunto a_s o c op ies o ne sa id r epo rt and schedu le · h " h · ' follow . ·· · , w ic. are as L

Copy of the Contrac t .

Artic les of ag r eement indente d , had mad e conclud ed and agreed upon thi s ninth day of La rch, :.n be ye~ r of our l~rd one t housan d seve!1 ':Jundre d and fifty f0ur, bet ween the ,nost revere0 d George lord a rchbis hop of r~aeh , ~rimate of all Irelnnc t , the most r ever enc J ohn l ord archbi shou of TuaT. , the ri[h t honour able Arthur Hil l , Es q . the honoura ble and reveren d Charles Caulfe ild , an6. t he reveren d Thoma s Staples , of th e one pa rt , and t he honou r able c or uo rat ion for ur omot i nc the inland navigat i on of Ir eland, of the other part . · \'ihereas by indente d ar ticles bearing dat e the fi rst day of June, one thousan d seven hundred and forty ei ght , and made or mention e6. t o be mad e by and be t we en t he said Geo r ge l or d orimate of a ll Ir elanc. , of t !:::e fi rst pa rt, t he said J oh!1 , lor d archbis hop of Tu_a:a , til:n lord bishop o f Down and Connor , of t he se cond pa rt , tne sa~~ .rthur Hill, of t he third par t, t he said Ch3 :les C!ulfei ld , or th~ f ourth u art , and t he said Thomas Sta, r es, or tne fJ.f th ~a rc, a 1 pa rtne rsh i u wa s entered into f or the ,-,orking of sev ei:a-, collier ies- by them hel c:1. in the county of Ty r one . _ And ,-me r~~s a c anal hat h been al r eady in pa rt mad ~ by ~he sa:d co~~~ra ~~ on for ur omo ting t he inland navigat ion or Ire.Land , r ro~ c.. - r!ve r Black Wa ter in the said county , to a pl ace cal~ed tne Oa~ rree ne a r adjoini no one o f t he said collier ies . Ano wn er ea s cne several work; me ntioned and sp~ ci~ied fi n ~~e s~~~ee ~;~s a~1 the esti ve o sha __ · · . · ma t e h ereun t o annexed ( exc•us, ~ b- 1 ed by Atch eson said ca n al as are c ontr a cte d t~ ~ !~~e~ment with t he said Jonnsto n, Esq . ; in pursu~n ce 0 ~ ~J.,s and t he said Lord co: porati on) ?o no:1 r ema;: n unfin_s n:d; eec:J ui t n t ':Je said Pr ima te an d h is said pa rc ne rs hf~:t ~nor before the f ir s~ _day cor po ratJ. on , t o execute and ~om~- d and fift v fiv e t he saJ.a of lfa y , one thou sa1;d _seven un _r~e ; t he said ca~al , se ve r a l wo r ks r ema i ni ng to be :to 0annexed at th e estima tes ai ned in t he s cn edule. he r~ amounti na i n t he whole to t he 7J.nontt he said schedu le mention ~ ' nds And t he said Lor d sum of five hundred and e J.g~ y f~~ a g;eed with the said Pr imate an d pa rt ne r s have lJ.k~; a rtners thei r execut ors corpo rat i on. t h at they t h e S! l - rl for t~ e cons i derat i on herein ~nd admini si r a t or s , shall an a WJ. 0

0

•

•

O

113· 1758.

Tyrone Nav i ga ti on : •· after mentioned , f rom time to time and as oft en as i; ne same shall d d • e necessa r " f b . ~f, ~r an__ urini:: t he ter m of t we nty one yea r s . from ~com · ,- '· t ne twent y fifc:-i day of 1-,a rc n next followina r e · uair ana Keep in . o, .d ir ~'1 e uhole of th .e_ sai c anal, and all t he wor"s therein and · "· repa thereup~n , done and to De done in pur suance of these nrese r:ts . or of_ any c on tra ct of the said c orporation with the said- Atcheson Jonnsto n , . as well t he several locks, bridges , wiers, ove r falls , outlets, inle~s 1 banks , towing s, paths , back dr ains , a s all other worKs appertaining t ne reto ( such uarts thereof the execution of which is c ontr a cted for by the said Atcheson John ston . beina firs t Arid whereas t he said corDor at:i.on ha th on co!llpleatly finished) . agreed with the said Lor~ Primate and his behalfs nd a ts t heir par pa rt ners t hat t h ey will, i n consideration of the premises, during the said term, pay to t he said Lord Prima te and his pa rtne rs, or to any t,iree of t he:n , the furt her annual sum of one hundr ed and twenty - five pound s sterling; t he first payment t he r e of to be made on t n e said twe nty fifth day of lfa rch, one thousand seven hundre d and fifty five . Now these presents Hitness , ti.lat in nursuance and pa rt ue r formance of t he said herein befo r e mentioned agreement t hey t he· said Lo rd Arch - bishop of Armagh, Prima te of all Irel a~d and pa r tners for and in considerati on of the sum of five hundr ed and ei gh ty )) ound s sterl_ing, to the :n in. hsnd . pa id by t he said c or oo ration at or before tne ensealing_ anc deli ~e r ~ of t hese presents , t '.le ;eceipt whereof ~s. h:reby a c Kno:•rledg:a , co for t henselves their execu tors and adm1n1s .r ators , co venan•, promise ·, g r ant ; and agree, to and w~th the s'.'id _corp,~ r ~tion and t hei r successors, t ha t they t he saic Ge or ge _L'? r a A~c~b.Ls~o\~ f .

Armagh and oa rtn ers , their executors or adminis_tra o_ s, _n~ and will befo re t he caid first day of hay, whicn shall be _dn t ne f · f t f · ve execuce an ~ • ~ 0 n~ on the said cgna l , yea r one th ou sand seven hund re d _a nd co "pleat t he seve r a l worKs re main~ng ? _e e hereunto annexed . mentio ned and cont a ined in e n: said sc necu; oursuance and fur ther And t hes e presents further in~ness} tna\~ agre~!tlents , t,1ey the ex~c ution and pe rfor~a~ c~ of ~he a ore;~d oartns r s, for and in said. Geor ge Lord Arc nbi ~~op or ~r!llag\f one hundr ed and t 11enty c~nsideration of t~e saia ye~~ly s:e said cor oo ration as afore f1~e pound s, agreea to be pa~a by · tors and ed'.ll inistrato rs, _ said , do f o r t hems e lv es, t ne.Lr executo and with t he said Ge~r~e_L~rd said the hey t cove nant , promi s e, ¥r ant , and agre~ ha t corpo r ati on and t hei r succes_;'ors, t· . r executors or aamims •rat Archb ish op of Armagh and pa rc ners, ne~ cost f ro'.ll ti:ne to tice ors, shall and will a t t heir own pr openecess~ ry for and duri ng and as ofte n as t he s ame shall beco.ne , 1-- -nd k~ep i n r epair t ,1 e t 'ne said t e r '.ll of twe n ~•Y on e yea rs il rep., ;,ror •lc s a tl1erein ano• t·:1e r eupon ~hole of the said cana l, and all ;et~e ag reements i n these done and t o be don e i n pur suanc~ ;ny 'c ontr a ct of t;1e said Joboston , as well t \1e several presents before !llent i o n~d , . or, 0 cor por ation with the said atc neson

t b

,,i,-.

T~r one ::av i gati on : , . , 1 t l ocks , bri d. ges , 1,1ic r s , over fa l ls ou tle ~"s , in touing s E s , band:s · ' 1- ci r ~ · n b , 1 , ' pa t n s , . a c ., - ~i. s , a s a _l ot he r uor k s ap1J ert a i ni n~ t' 1cr ' t 0 (, sucn th -te ' ~f ~ tr -on ·c s ; ch \·ihi of on i t cu exe pa r ts t ne r eo f Jthe e - oC cea or y b . ~ , - , • A~ 1 ~d sai a cc.1 es o~ onn scon . ein g f ir st com,, le atly finis:i ed ) . t h~ said Geo1 f~ Lo rd __Pru~ t e . and his sa i d partne r s do by t:i; se ~r e;3e nts fo r c:,emsel ve~ , cneir exe cut or s and ad:ninistrators , ! Urc ~e r ? ov enant ! pr omise , gr ant and agree to and with the said ,c?r po r ~tio ~ a nd , hei ~· su c cessors , th at t:1e sa i d Lor d Fr i..iate and nis said partn e r s , tn eir executor s or ad'.ainis t ra t or s shall and wi ll yea r .Ly a nd e v e r y y e a r , duri ~g t he said ter.a of t wenty one year s , ou t of t ~~ s ai d)'.ea rly sum of o~e ?und r ed and twenty five_ pounds , p ay t o ,iv e dirr e r en t pe r sons co oe empl oyed by them ana unde r th e ir in spe cti on and di r e ction as l ock- keeoers to t,1e ;a.:.c. locks , t ,1 e ye arly su:11 of five ,'OUnd s ea ch , the sac1e to be _ aici and payable on the t.wen ty fi f t h day of ,!arch in eve r y yea r o!: t':le nci t hese ) r esents fu rt ,1e r witne s s , &nc1 the saio. said term. corporat i on i n c ons i de r at i on of the pr emis se s , and i n exe cu ti on and performance of t he a gr ee:,1ent afo resa i d , on thei r pci r t and behalf , to be done :ind 1, erf or med , do fo r t'lemselves and their succ esso rs, c ov e nant , pr om is e , and agree to and ,n~17 ti~e _suiO. Lor d Prima t e , t h e said Ar ch - b ishop of Tuam , r thur :::ill , C'larle s Caulfe ild and Thoma s Staple s the ir and every of tileir executor s . and admi ni st r ators , t :1at t:~ey ' t he sai ci cor:_:>ora ti on and the_ir successo r s , shall and will yea rl y an6. ever y yea r , dun ,:i~ t:,e _said te r m of t we nty o!1e y e a r s , well a nd truly pay to t he, sa20 ~or ;:.

Prima t e an d his said pa rt ners , t h~i r ~xecutor s . or amiinis cr aco~ s , t he sa i d yea r ly sum o f one hundr ed ano. twe nt y rive 12ound s , _or _or such pa r t t hereof a s t h e s ame shall be payabl e in vir t\le o r Pr ovid ed ah ;ays , and it ~s t ne tru~ rn~~ ni f~d these· pr esen t s .

0 meaning of t h ese p r esents, and of t he part ie s he r eu~. , ;;~ t '; ~ , r shall an d may be i aw!ul ~o and for t h 7 s~id co?~~!~t~n 0 ;~ yc,~r; 0 -; ci Locrl: - ' s e 'i t ... ~r said, he t during succes so rs , a t any time 01 !f~;~~aid ha~~ he re ~t their will and p l ea su r e to r e;11ove a ~~ I n wi tness whereof, t ~e pa~ _e~ yea r above wri t ten . .ceepers . unt o put t h e i r hand s and se al s t n e day an A. HILL , Seal. .

TUAI-!

Seal OHN J GEORGE Se al A..R.HAGH .

Co r oor at i on Seal .

175' , Ty r one l,avi ga ti on : Copy o f the Sch edule annexed t o s aid Deed .

Sevent y f ive pe rches of t he bank to be r aised sodded , and ;ciled to k e ep of f t he bla ck and ' tor r ent ri ve rs, a t fo rt y sh i ll i ngs pe r per ch .

£

s. d .

150

0

0

Fift y 9e rc:1e s t o be d rudg ed, a t one 9ound five ~illing s pe r pe rc h .

6::, 1 0

0

Thr ee hundre d and t wenty pe rches t o b e c layed and gr ave lled on t he tr a ck bank f r om t he mi dd l e lo ck to t he Bl a c k Hat e r , a t fo u r sh ill i ng s per perch .

64

o

0

Taki ng dm-m and r ebuildi ng one si de of t he lo ck , built by Corn et Gilber t .

75

o

O

Two hundre d and f orty p e rch e s t o be fo r med and gr ave l l ed f r o!ll "'Ir . John s t on ' s house to nea r the oak tr ee, a t t hree sh illing s pe r pe r ch .

36

0

0

Two hundre d a nd t en per ches of ba cl,- dr ai n , at t wo shilli ng s p er pe rch .

21

0

0

Five i i;i l et s, a t one p ou nd si x s hilli ng s ea ch .

6 10 0 100

0

0

l ock s, at t wenty six pounds e a ch .

52

0

0

Counter s , sh eeti ng , J:c . f o r dit t o

13

0

£580

0

Five lo ck- keepers house s at twent y pounds e a ch .

Two stone and l i me ar ch e s over the t wo lo1·1 e st

0

1758.

Tyrone Na vi gat i on .

Copy of t he Report .

August 16 , 1757 .

Your Comm~ttee t hc:ugh t it their duty to view the canal in t he c oun~? of -Yr one , ~rom the bason at nnagher to the Black Wa ter , wni,ch they founa in very bad or de r and much out of re,:,air , ano th at tne c orporation may mo re fully and easily ne rceive the pre sent bad si t uat ion of it , t hey have he re set forth t he ly intire bason the at overfall particula r s out of r epa ir . The out of order , and ,,an ts immediate r epair, as are the snlay walls of the lock fixed here; the wall of the bason on t!le south side of t he lock too low, and ough t to be r aised to pr event the Hate r frot! r unni ng over , which does great damage to the ban'., belo\-1 it .

Part of t he ban!, on the south side of the l e vel between tne bason loc k and mill dam lock has slipped into t he c anal, wh ic h can be r epa ired by p ili ng only : the mill- dam lock staunch and gooo, but the splay walls of it mu c h out of repair . The uppe r lo ng l evel , next the mill- dam lock is much out of r epair , the ban'.~s are ve ry bad , and instead of being sloped are under2i ned , and in ~rea t danger of falli ng int o the c ana l, as there is a great lo aa of ea rth lyi ng on the bank, wl1ich was never , l evell~d or formed .

There is a stone bridge on the tracl, roaa of this l evel in_ a ruinous condition . The banks on both sides of this l evel nav e slipped in at two o r three diff erent pl aces , and must . ~e repa ired by pi ling and l and ties . The overfall_o n the north sioe i n this leve l in a ruinous condition and mad e in a wrong pl ace , and ough t to be made up , and a new one mad e near the doubl e lo~!, on the south side . The who le le vel is very foul aJ_Jd 1-iant s co be. scoured · the tr a ck roa d is much out of repai r , and wants to ~e The level is so foul t hat the ho rses c~n_ sca~ ce.!.\ gravell~d . pull t he bo a ts t hr o1;1gh the mud . . The splfY w;}!s ~~/~~d~~~b _e lock want some r e pa irsi the locl, is in tote r a ;:;o r ~ which is th e s or: wh i~h m-y ea oi 1 y Some wate r runs thro I the Joints of owi ng t o t h e i nsufficienc y of t h e sp l ay \-/~~ m~de on- th; north There never ':'a s ~ bac\;ct~a~te d . The r e is a bri dge be r e pa ir ed . east side of this level , which is muc ,.a of passa"e fo r the over this l evel built fo r _the _conve~~e~c rhat ca rriiges c an s ca rce people of t ne country , wh~ ch . 1 s so e!~h e~d of the bridge on t:1e get over it for want of fillin g ~nt O Cor ' ~ lock is in pretty Th e lock called Cor ' s d The l e ve l fro m this lmc banks . h ed condi tion , and ~ust good conditio n, and the _tr a c k roadag~~etc 1 lock , built by Co rne t G1lbe:t , 11.1t be i n" made so na rr ow a t nrst , chiz; le away a g r eat dea l be t aken dovm in or der t o widen 1 ,mich obl i g ed t he builde r s_ of ~ r to d r ao t he boats through ; er it wi 11 fall in an6. st op t he of t he sides of the lock , 1 1.1 O --ire repa soon y r ve be this mus t

tb

°~

// 7.

1758 , Tyrone :~3v igation .

T~e level from this loc k to the l ower loc k whole ?av igati on . near t ne, Bla c k Wate r is very f oul, and r equi res g r eat scour ing .

The t: a c ,, r oa ~ very poorly g r a ve lled , and t':Ja t but ve r y narrow , a~d will require t~ be gr avelled anew . The bank s on eac:1 side or t ne level nea r vhe Black Water are ver y l ow . and in wretched co ndition , they mus t b e r a ised , and toe bac!, dr ains want to be scoured, being now entirely go r ged . On the south side of th i s level t h ere mus t b e a ba c k d r ain ma de, and a staunch in~ cut made f r om the lower l ock t o the brea ch last repaired . "The level is ve ry f oul and wants a thor ough sc ouri ng . The over fa ll in this level is mu ch out o f r epa ir . It will be ne cessa r y to fix poles on t he bank s of t h is l evel and t 'ie Bla ck Hater as gui des i n time s of floods . All t ':Je sl uices in t ':J e l oc k gates want t o be bush ed , and all t he ga tes want to be caulked and ta r re d . The locks in general wan t t o b e cop ed , ancl filled behind t he coping , in or<ier to keep t he c oping stones and l and ties whi ch hold the heel nost s of t he ga tes stead y and f irm, Hi t hout whi ch t ne gates must often go out of re,:ia ir . It Hill also be necessary to fix 9iles at t he sul ay walls· of a ll the locks , to defenc. t:1em fro:n dama:;e when t h e· bo a ts enter t h e locks . All t ne i:Ja ck- 6. r ains t hat a re mad e want to b e sc oure d . Th re e l oc k- keepe r s houses to_ be finished , and one to be built . The new c ut t ~lo1'/ t ,1e ~10•.. e r lock int o t !'le Bla c K Wat e r is e ntire ly gr o1·m up , ana 1:1~nts co be, new Your Commit tee f a rt !'le r observe , that Hilli a'.ll Cl e oeni; s , clea re d who liv~s at t he ba son , co ,np l ains that he oas suffer ed :; r eat ly by t he wa ter wh ic h run s from toe t orre nt i ri t o t '.1 e oas.o~ , !·Y ~ flo odinq eight a cres of his g r oun6. , a nd pa r t of t ha t nis oesc c au se to a r 1- se f r omt tt :1 e · d ~he 1.,1. meadow· u pon v1ew1 n° w.h'i c ,n we _r in f oulne ;s a t· t!:le w;t:r - cou r se , whic h le ads f r ?m the : 0 rr: n r O t t he baso>1 , arid fro m t he want of a pr'.:lpe r s~uice a~ "'.1~ ~~r~!~e ' . near Cre~nagh whe r e a strong banl, and s lui ce ?tic:nt " C1emeni: s · t d t 0 ta'·e ca r e of it ' t and t 1 e tiste t o t-.. ~nd a pr ope r pe rson ap,oin e . insis ts u po n being pa i~~f or his dama¥~f pasutht t o be done, fo r c_ome, whic h y our Commi~cee a r~ 0 { . opL-- ~\~ f ~eauently 5ives Your tne good . and quie~ of che navig~h i~n{,a ~er ~course . all t!'le inte rruption h~ cant? t: a t t his nav igati on i n Tyrone Committee having been informea na 6 ~s and having Qbt ained a was under contra ct for twenty ~ne by a ad~ unon ente ri ng i nto t '.1 e copy of the sche6.ule of worl{ ~ ? eemar a te· a rticles of t hat co ntrac t, have he ret o an nexea tne s Pea ch a r t i cle and t ~e ir 11 whi ch i s schedul e , wit h the su.ms estima te d t~ t he contra~t'. ob se rv a t ions uuon the pe r fo r man c~ 0 humbly su bm itted to the corpora ti on .

0

•

•

,,~.

1758 .

Tyrone Navi~a tio n .

Schedule .

First Article . ~ev ~nty f ive pe rc he s of the ba~k to ~e r ai sed , sodded and pilea, to keep off .the Bla ck \lace r ano torrent rivers, estima te d at fo rty sh i llings ue r per ch , One hund red and fifty ' pound s .

It does n o t apj1ea r t o t he Committe e t ha t a ny wo r k has been ' done , relative to t hi s a rtic le .

Seco nd Artic le .

Fifty per ch es to be d r udged , a t one uound f ive shi llings per pe rch , Si xty two pounds ten sh illings-.

Th e Committee we re informed, t ha t t h e entr an ce i nto the torrent was drudged, but t h e ne1v cut i nt o t he Bla c ., '.iate r is gr own up , and ha s no t been d r udged since t he contract made .

Third Articl e .

Three hund re d and twent y perches to be c layed and gr a velled on t he track bank from t h e mi ddle lo ck to t he El a c:~ Wat e r , a t four shillings pe r pe rch , Sixt y f our pound s .

1 Part of this is g r avel l e d i ut very li ght and nar ro 1.-. • ~-tnen the Committee comu lained of t he insuff ic i en c y of the gravelli ng , the pe rson who wa -s emnloye d t o do the work , said , he could not affor d to do it bette:r' ~ s 11 e was al lowed but one shilling and nine - ryen ce a nerch fo r' doin ~ it . It must be gr ave lle d anew , or the tr a c:~ ho r ses ~anno t pas~ in wet weathe r .

Fou rth Article .

Taking down and r ebuilding or;e side of t he loc'.: built by Cornet Gi l b ert , Seve nty five pounas . no t hin" done to t i1is lo ck; it . is ~n a ruinous Th e r e is i f not re built t his se ason , in a ~l proba bility , and condition there wil1 t, e no n a v ig atio n there next season .

1758 , Tyr one Navi s~ tion . ?ift h

rticl e .

Two hund red and forty per c , es to be formed and gr av elled f rom l-,r . Johnston ' s hous e t o near t he oa k tre e , at t 'i r ee s·1illings pe r pe rch , Th irt y s ix pound s , This 1-:o r k ha s not be en done , t he re ha s been some ;; r avel la i d on he r e and t h ere , i 'l a ver y li g'1 t s l ove nly way . T'1is rar.~ i s in suc'1 bad orde r that t l1e loc k keepe rs and some gent lemen who attend ed your Committee, i nforme d them t ha t i n winter time or \•;e t weather, it was not passa ble f or either man or ho r se wi th out bein~ boE;g e d , and t hat horses were not ab le to tra c'., _t 'ie boa ts .

Sixt h

rticle .

Two hund red and ten perch es of ba ck dr a i n , at t wo shillir.gs pe r ,;ier ch , Twenty one ,;iounds .

Th is war:, is not done.

Seventh Art icle .

Five inletts, a t one pound s ix shil ling ea ch , Si x pounds ten shillings .

Inletts ma de very in sufficiently, and now- much out of order . Two of t hem mad e in 1-1rong r, lace s • Ei gh t h Article .

Five lock- keepe rs houses , a t twenty pounos ea ch , one hundre d pounds . ne built at the bason

no windoHs or inr..e

r , ...

The s h ell of O . . h d ~ the doub l e l ock , sorc e1-ma c doo r s to it . One built and fi ni ~--~lta\ Corr ' s lock , but !lot out of r epair at present .

Omi ~ui ~he foun oat i on of a four th finish ed, and in very oa d c ondi~~on,: 1 a ck Wa ter t t1 e fifth is not is laid at t he lower lock ne ar . e_o_ -~ ' begun , nor any materials prep a red ro r 1 ·

Nint h Article . . over t he two l0\•!€st locks, at Two stone and lime a rc ne s d Counter shee t in~ fo r twenty six pounds each, fifty two poun s · Sixt y five pounds . them, t hirteen r,ounds . . t ne arches mad e, tl,,o woooen 6.~awThe r e n ever were any sf~ - . nt.l y one of t nem is br oKe doim bridees were mad e v ery insu r ic i e · - '

:?e .

l:ZO. Tyrone Naviga tio n . and useless , as it ha s n o t be en re pa ire d . \lilli am Richa r dson , Henry Hi lli a.n lfoore, Robert Scott . . The righ t honour abl ~ Arthur d ill beinz pr esent , infor med the Committe e, t ha t he had signed that dee d of c ontra ct . as also tna t be bel i e ve d his Gr a c e t he Lord, Prima te had signed the same • but said, that he never took u uon him any uart of the executio~ of the wo r ks c ontained in tha t d eed , nor did he believe that the Lord Primate had t aken any sha re in it; and t hat the sum of fi ve hundred and eighty pounds in t he deed mentione d , was :r,a id to the Archbisho p of Tuam , who t ook ur,ion h i mself solely the exe cut i on of the work s co ntained in th a t deed of c ont r a ct; and it also ar,ipea rs that -Ir . Caulfei l d and Hr . St au le s never signed said deed , nor ever took any share in execut ing said wo r ks . That i-Ir . Fet he r ston , agent to the pa rtnersh i p, infor med Mr . ,H i ll , that the_ na vi gation was much ou t of order, u:r,on whi c h Mr . Hill wr ote t o tne Archb~sho p of Tuam, de s i ri ng hL-1 to give or de rs to have the sa ::ie put . 11: re pa ir, and to p repa re t he a ccomr,it s of th~ co.npa1:1Y , re la~i ve to the navigatio n and of t he money grante d oy Pa r li am ent eApended A copy of wh ich lett er wa s p r oduced , and on the wag go n - tay. proved to your Committe e and r ead ; whi c h is a s foll ows : Belvoir, July 18 t h , 1757 .

My Lord , Mr . Fethe r st on was lately with me, and i nformed me , that t he canal and loc k s in Tyrone will r equire l a r ge_ r e))airs th is t~ea s ont. ~ , which if ·no t ma de dur in ~ the s~mme r, cannot be done till detne O e and f r om the g r owing da;';;ages of the winter , may be supp ose more exp ensive then than .now. t h t your Gr a ce had mentio ned a ld . e eithe r t o take t he a t me , He at the same time t? proposal , which you some ti me ago made 1 m0 ; to leave it to you , bar gain with the board wholly uporh mrs~ro;o s~l. I as\< your Gr a ce a reposit i on s of yours go out and that you wa it ed my answe: to a t housand pa r dons, fo r l :t tin g any P and I ne ver t hough t of i t of my head , but the ~a ct is re~l lyFs~6er ston put me i n mind of it . f r om the time I r eceived ~t , ti~ l / could not' :;uess at its meaning ; t t o this hour I neve r once I ndeed at the t i me I received i t because f r om our signi ng th~ c~~ r~~nduct of it, a ~d wa s a l1•1ay s int e r f ered wi t h your Grae~ in, t e ou- wished sh ould be done, ready to concur with you i n wna . ~ '✓ r Forde who I did , and do t o be i ~truste d with publi ck excep t in the ins t an ce o{h~me~ Yt °n f u rt her co nsideri n~ wha t your n st il l with eood r eason 1 upo , But now or priva te money .

1

tt

a.

1758.

~

12 I.

Tyrone Navi ga tion .

th· · s e I beg l eave t o g ive Gr ace has· h bet e n ·p le a s 1ed t o n• rono is ' • ' . a,n swe r • t . a a s to t ,1e re pa i r of th e c a nal , or t he exe cu ti on of t na~ cont~3 ct 1 I c an by n? me ans t ake i t upon myse l f solel y : the conc r a ct i s wit h t he co~l1 e r y c ompany , and of t ha t coCTna ny 6nly , you~ Gr a ce a 7d I. ha ve signed i t, bu t the r est of t he co,nn any ha ve a ri gn t t o S.Lgn if ,they pl e a s e; and I do not know t ha t e:i. t he r of u s can as sume -~~e wno_l e . to ou r s elves , either t oge t he r or e par a t! lY , wic n ou t tne1 r c ons ent , or _inde e d , t he cons ent of the boa r d, ror llilll:-.C.Qll.St at, that t h e bo a r ct woul d have c ontr a cted wit h any singl e perso n . Again , if i t be a l u crative ba r ~a i n sure ly the _!H ofit ou_gh t in r ea s on and e quit y t o c: o to t he ~o.1p ~ny ; if a losing one , t ne compan y wil l h a ve a rnu ch be t ter ch an ce of f avour f r o'.!1 t he bo a r d , t h an a ny sin:: le pe r son , uho has t ak en t he whole upon himself, co ntra r y to t h eir i nt ent i on s . So tha t upo n t h e whole , I c annot t hink it p r ud ent f or eith er you or me t o ma ke any change in t h e executi on o f t h i s c ontr a ct, but t o pro cee d t o lay out an d a cc ount for t h e mo ney as soon as poss i ble . A commissio n wa s late l y ap ooint ed f or the i nspect ion and SU!)e r intendance of those canais; a nd I unde rst and t ha t the Commi ssione rs soo n mean t o' vi s it t h i s . I f i t should t e re por t ed to be unfinished , it woul d rJake us appea r i n an odd li ght . I therefore must be g l eave humbl y to recomJend it t o yc,1;1r Gr a ce ' s conside r ation, ,-1hether Hr . Fet h erst on sh ould not be oir~cte d by us both to nut th e ca nal and l o cks int o i mmedi a te repa ir , and be furnis h ed· , rith mo ney f or tha t pur uos e . I f i nd 1-:r . For de ha s received a la;ge sum fo~ !)aY!lle nt c, f ou r debts; ~ha t _,our d~b: s are still unpaid particularl y a s canoa lou s one t o l-1r • ,•JU sse nuen .

That t he gre ~t sum r aised i n Ap r il, one th ous a,nd ndsev~ n huni re dha s and fifty six , not less than one th ous a~dt ~n~ '?u 5 ~e~~ !)O~~ s}or de not been a pn lied as i t was int en ded, a n o ka6 in - ~~~ ~u;t · of th e' ~~e;~ wh ic h we t hough frequently c a lle? u pon , wil~ _no~h m~e 0 O O ey seven hund re d and nd mone y whi ch h e · has receive d ,. nor th ~us~ - that time h e char ged u~animously ag r eed_to in Ap r il , one · f t he c~nal some a returne debts of list a n I fifty six .

1 ~~o~t both i n -fhat , pa rt of them as money l aid out up'? n r e ' r anted by ounds , · paid of which I am tol d a re not Jet th ous~~~slon : wh~n I t h inl, of all and in t he a cc ompt of the , 3:our Parliament, I can see notm.ng ~~t co reaching Parliament, I can not these things , pa r ticularly of _ e_a~ p at ieast , tha t some help pouring myself out, and w~shin;; affairs into some little measures may be t aken for puttingto larly if we have not a order aga inst that time , mo re p~ r }cihat m~ney t o be lai d before clear and a s atisf a ctory a cc oun ° ably expect any assist ance conse quence of our Parliame nt, I doubt we c annot rea~onthe th from the pub lick , an? withou\ ak' ma ny pa r do ns for this long r no mor e t ha n hints fo r ta~unde rt aki ng i s t oo visi~le · 1 ~n thi nk and a ct more cle a rly confused de t a il, which is mean Your Gr a ce who I am sen s ible, c and us efuliy t o'the pur pose th an , My Lord, Your Grace ' s mos t obedient , and mo st humble A. HI LL . servant ,

1~

1758.

l:2-.

Tyrone Navi gatio ns

IZt..

b hi Then a lette r wrote rsI n s Grace the Archb ishop of Tuam to Fethe s Jame end the Rever t to the company ' was by desir e of his Grace read • a~d'i agen s as follow s: Tuam, May 13th, 1757.

Reverend Sir,

I have long waite d for lette ri deliv ered to you by Mr. Forde , as I re!~~ ~e~ng w;r toChmyristm a s ast; and am e ore at a loss to accou nt f inten tions as to acco~ ~i~o ur negle ct 0 to acqua int me with your rdmy share of the profi ts of the colli eries . I am f!i,w}~h m~ dto lay you under any diffi culti es, and hope the work~mwirle~e ing con ucted so as to t satis fy the th I have desir ed Mr. ck. publi Hill that t~ er ~r ner~ and the and that may e put under your direc tion, he will dir ~ ~an sary for neces is r, Alderman Baili e to pay what . ec th wanted in it \s~~ rtes of the lock- keepe rs 7 and the re pairs am, Sir, • and , works the e glad to know the state of 1 so

f

Your very humble Serva nt, JOHN TUAM. Then your Comm ittee proce eded to examine witne sses to the ule perfo rmanc e of the sever al artic les conta ined in the sched ' viz. artic le by artic le; and the first artic le being read, Seven ty five perch es of the banks to be raise d, sodded, and piled , to keep off the black and torre nt river s, at forty shilli ngs per perch , One hundr ed and fifty pound s.

The Rever end James Fethe rston decla red, that he had been agent to the company conce rned in the colli ery, fr~ Septe mber, one thous and seven hundr ed and fifty four, and that there was not any of that work done since his being employed.

Willi am Grea trix said, that he had been seven years in of any the servi ce of the corii.pany, as entin eer, and never knew ental accid of that work being done; but says, there were some breac hes in other parts of the bank repai red.

John Stone said that he had been nine years in the servi ce of the company as ca;pe nter and lock- keepe r, and confir med the evide nce of the said Willi am Grea trix.

Then the secon d artic le was read, viz.

1758.

~

Tyrone Navig ation,

123

Fifty perch es to be drudge d at five shilli ngs per perch , Sixty two pound s ten :mill~ ~:s:ou nd rix said ' that there was some drudgi ng done Willia m Great th M t b ousan d seven hundre d and fift five; cannot say ay, one a ou ~~~ ~uch, but what they did drudg e, appear ed t; him suffic iently 8 John Stone said, that there was not any drudgi ng since the comm issione rs had been there , who were appoin ted by thena v1 ga ti on board to inspe ct the works , The Rever end James Fethe rston said the boatmen compl ained of the shallo wness all last summer; that the Archbishop of Tuam made a barga in to drudge from the lower lock to the Torren t water for twenty pound s; but that to his opinio n, it was not suffic iently and a done, being in some place s, at some season s, but three feet half. And said, that no part of the new cut was drudge d.

Then the third articl e was read, viz.

Three hundr ed and twenty perche s to be clayed and grave lled on the track- bank, from the middle lock to the Black -water , at four shilli ngs per perch , Sixty four pound s, The Rever end James Fethe rston, believ ed there was not anylled, part of it clayed , but said, that it was in some places grave though very insuf ficien tly. Believ ed the Revere nd Doctor Ryder, son to the Archb ishop of Tuam, made a bargai n for the same, at one shilli ng and nine-p ence per perch, and that there were about an hundre d perch es grave lled, believ ed the said Doctor Ryder was impowered to act only by his father : and furthe r said, that track horse s pass with great diffic ulty.

John Stone said it was not clayed , but believ ed there were about one hundr ed pe~ch es grave lled, that it was badly done, and that track horse s pass with great diffic ulty, that in the broade st place it was about six or seven feet broad, in the narrow est, about five; and that it is not broad enough for two horses to pass.

Then the fourth articl e was read, viz.

Taking down, and rebuil ding one side of the lock, by Cornet Gilbe rt, Seven ty five pound s. of John Stone being examinebd, said,r~ h~~ei ~a;eop :~e~ two of the lock taken down, ut no pa knowle dge, and that he saw it about December last.

i~~f:

~-

1758.

12-17-.

Tyrone Navigation.

The Reverend James Fetherston id taken down by boatmen, that they mig~~ h1v!h~re w~re some stones that no part of it was repaired. oom o pass, but Then the fifth article was read, viz.

Two hundred and forty perches to be formed from Mr. Johnstonrs house to near the oak tree shillings per perch, Thirty six pounds. '

d

!~ tg~;;elled,

The Reverend James Fetherston said that some part of this was donet but not sufficiently.

That Doctor Ryder contracted for the Uoing of it at two shillings and sixpence halfpenny per perch, that it is gravelled only in patches; that horses travel it with great difficulty; and that in wet weather men can scarcely walk on it.

And further said, that he went on the bank with Doctor Ryder, and shewed him, that it was not gravelled two inches thick, though it should have been one foot in the middle, with a fall to each side of six inches.

John Stone said, there was only some part of this done, and even that very superficially, so that horses and men travel it with great difficulty. Said, he was present when Doctor Ryder bargained to give two shillings and sixpence halfpenny per perch, for the work; and said, it was not finished according to the contract; but yet the persons contracting were paid, as he heard and believes, in full.

Then the articles of said agreement were laid before your Committee and it appeared that Doctor Ryder, had (in the bargain mentioned'by said Fetherston and Stone) only contracted for one hundred and twenty perches.

Then the sixth article was read, viz.

Two hundred and ten perches of back drain, at two shillings per perch, Twenty one pounds.

The Reverend James Fetherston said, that no part of this was done since he has been employed by the company. t f the back-drain was made John Stone said, that som~ p~r do and fifty four, but cannot in S'Ulllmer, one thousand seven unth re s not half of it done. be positive how much: believed ere wa Then the seventh article was read, viz. und six shillings each, Six pounds One Po ten ah l.ings. inletts, at

Ffr~

.:r,'.

175'8.

11 5

Tyrone Nav iga tion .

The Rev eren d Jam es Fet her st lett s were made to app eara nce suf fic ien tly , but ~~d s~;i • s~~ d:n Then the eig hth art icl e was rea d, viz .

Fiv e loc k kee per s hou ses at twe nty pounds eac h, One hun dred pounds. bi t es Fat her son 8 The Rev eren d Jam ng examined, con firm ed in re the lar ticu par eve ry issi one rs app oin ted to ins pec t the wbr ks, asp ~~t t~f~ ea~ fi;~ :.co mm Then the nin th art icl e was rea d, viz . ove r the two low est loc ks, at Two ston e and lim e arc hes twenty six pou nds eac h, Fif ty two pou nds .

Cou nter she etin g for dit to, thir tee n pounds • pounds.

Six ty five

also (as to this arti cle ) The Rev eren d Jam es Fet her sto n rep ort made by the said con firm ed in eve ry par ticu lar , the com mis sion ers. des ired to info rm the Then the said Mr. Fet her sto n bein gcan al, said , tha t the mil l Committee of the gen era l sta te of the fou nda tion is bad; and as to dam loc k app ear s suf fic ien t, but the set for th in the rep ort made eve ry oth er par ticu lar , it is ful ly Ric hard son , Esq .; and oth ers , to the nav iga tion boa rd, by Wil liam tru e. lmich in eve ry art icl e is jus t and bein g pre sen t alle dge d to His Gra ce the Arc hbis hop of Tuam the con trac t, tha t Atcheson t of the Com mit tee, tha t it bein g parfec t the work he had und erta ken , Joh nsto n, Esq ; sho uld fir st per trac tors wit h the boa rd of inla nd and not hav ing com plie d the con not ing perf orm ed the ir par t nav igat ion were not ans ~er abl e for ce washav sed to info rm your of the con trac t. And the n his Gra firs t plea icle in the sch edu le, Committee, tha t wit h res pec t to the app reheart it nec essa ry to do no work was don e the re nor doe s he al is nd thro ugh ano ther can any, as the pre sen t coii rse of the oth art icle refe rred to a Pas sag e; and for ans wer to eve ry deser ired might be rea d, which was Paper whi ch he had drawn up, and acc ord ing ly rea d, and is as foll ows .

$. \ '2./:,

17~8.

Tyrone Navigation, An account of the imperfections and defects in the works

executed by Mr. Johnston in the Tyrone canal.

The walls of the locks t hroughout the whole (excepting the piers) are built on a foundati on not deeper than the sills of the floors; the sills not being laid above a foot within the walls and having no foundation of stone under them, the walls have ' fallen in, and have in some parts been rebuilt, but not with a It is therefore apprehended that these proper foundation. locks will be subject to frequent failures, and t hat when they happen to fail hereafter, it will be adviseable to take them down intirely, and re build them. The timber used in the floors and sills, is mostly of sorry firr trees, the growth of this country, the backs and bars of the gates are of sappy oak, the None of the gates are planks of firr instead of heart of oak, staunch. The splay-walls at t he ends of t he locks are giving way, most of them are too short, and throughout the whole of th e stone work, there is a total want of coping. The stone rampart from the upper lock to the overfall, is built as the wall s of the lock without a proper foundation ; to preserve it for the present, a bank of sods is built against it on t he insi de next the water, which when washed away, the wall will fall and must be rebuilt.

The tracking bank on the side of the bason at the head of the canal is not raised to a sufficie nt he i ght above the surface of tb~ water and on the north side of it remai ns nnformed. The short level ~t the mill dam is made so narrow 1 that vessels cannot pass in it. In the long levels above the double lock s , great part of the canal is out of the ground, and in ge neral it is not opened at the proper breadth, so that vess~ls are there 1 ~ tugt~~ ~anks also. incapable of passing when they meet, nor 1 proper breadth: to remedy this, the wa;ef1is ra send ~beak the c~al d f t In several parts of it, t he banks are a en Dit h a ese e ec s.

It will cost four hundred pounds, to make good 1 The , above is laid before the corporat~o~ i~r O ia~;! f~r~np;f!ate kee in in inland navigation of Ireland, on the e a f c. of ock~ and others, contractors with the c~rp~rai~o~,t~~rl th e i~ ~n tialaand good re~air, repair the Tyrone canal; to ntractors the said canal may be put into su s an • co the by kept so and contract, the according to JOHN TUAM.

f

The 9th of November, 1755, t d by his Grace containing Committee which is as And then another paper was pre:efh: O ' proceedings the on animadversions follows;

Tyrone Navigation.

The Archbishop of Tuam was desirous of attending the Committee, appointed to enquire into the state of the Tyrone canal and ?ollieries, throughout the course of their enquiry, and accordingly attended them the day they first met to do business, and also the day to which they next ad j ourned but no business was then done, Their further adjournment w;s to Monday the twentieth ins~ant; the archbishop that morning, being obliged to attend the privy council on particular business gave notice of this to Mr, Brownlow their chairman; notwithstanding this the archbishop is informed that the Committee, that day, proceeded to examine witnesses in matters rel ative to his conduct, without waiting for his attendance, in order to the cross-examining such witnesses. This he considers as an unusual and partial procedure; however he thinks it incumbent upon him, in justification of the contr actors, to inform the Committee, that they have eXpended seven hundred and seventy five pounds in the works to be done by them, in pursuance of their contract, the repairs of the canal, the locks built by Mr. Johnston, and in lock-keepers houses and salaries. That to be enabled to make good the failures in Mr. Johnston's works, and t o prevent the ruin of their collieries, they have though t it more prudent to suspend the execution of the remaining part of the works within their contract till this matter should be considered by the corporation, intending to make good the whole of t hei r contract, after receiving the satisfaction they are intitled to from the 111 performance of Mr. Johnston's works.

JOHN TUAM. February 21st, 1758.

Upon which the chairman informed the Committee that h~hhad already read (from his notes) to ~is g;a;:,~h:b:!~~~~~~~t h! evidence taken the day before inth 5 htafit to cont~overt any might have an opportunity if the do~~e witn~sses being again of the mat t er contained in i ; an t read their evidence called in, the chairman was d~re~t:: i~ confirmed by themselves ~rticle by article, in o:der O a to ive his Grace an in presence of the archbishop, andA co~dingly the first, second, opportunity of cross-examining, c nfirmed by the wi tnesses; and third articles being read, wer:n~0 0 r each article, to ask and his Grace was desired, at t~e hich he declined; and desired such questions as he thought f~ 'rttee no more might be read, that, to save the time of th e ~mmll th~t had been taken dow, for he was satisfied to admit o a and had not any questions to ask,

l:!.

17,8.

,2i .

Tyrone Navig ation, Then the arch-b ishop , being reque sted to infoI'!ll the committee, wheth er there was a suffic iency of coals in those collie ries, to answe r the demands of the city of Dublin , his Grace was please d to say, that he has the strong est assura nce that there is enough of every kind (excep t for drying of malt) to supply this city for some hundr eds of years , Then Edward Forde , pay-c lerk and cashie r to the partn ership , was called by the desire of the archbi shop; who being exami ned said, that he had paid the sum of seven hundre d and seven ty-fiv e pounds four shilli ngs and ten pence halfpe nny, by order, to sundry person s for works done by them, but could not produc e any writte n order for payme nt of the same, He said, that a great part of it was paid by desire of the revere nd doctor Ryder , but could not be positi ve what partic ular works this sum was applie d But his Grace the to, as he had not vouch ers for the whole . archbi shop having admi t ted, that he had receiv ed from the naviga tion board the sum of five hundre d and eighty pound s pursua nt to contr act, for puttin g the before -ment ioned works in repair , as also two years salary , being two hundre d and fifty pounds for maint aining and suppor ting the same and for paying lock keepe rs salari es, your Committee did not think it neces sary said to make any farthe r enquir y into the accou nt produc ed by the of Edward Forde; as they judged that by enqui ring into the itate the works, they had alread y fully compl ied with the orders of this House , so far as relate d to the perfor mance of the contr act, Atches on Johns ton, Esq.; being examin ed said, that the works were taken off his hands by the archbi shop, and his servan t was hired to take care of them. Being asked what farthe r ~prov ement s might be made in the navig ation; he said, it would every advan tageou s and necess ary to cut a canal from the house commonly called Capta in Johns ton's house to Farlou gh lough by the which are by ; 0 rrent river, as throug h that the Dromg lass coals, examin ed Being tar the best and most usefu l, mi ght be navig ated, 0 the presen t state of the canal, he said, that it is in a very on bad condi tion, which he attrib utes to the not having exp ended ry collie it the money grante d by the navig ation board to the company for puttin g and keepin g the same in repair .

Willia m Dunn being examin ed, said, that he was employ ed , three years by Atches on Johns ton, Esq,; as overse er of thebyworks the years and afterw ards (at his recom menda tion) above three archbi shop, as overse er and lock-k eeper; that when the archbi shop ;ngaged him he gave the charge of the whole canal to him; and hhat he contra cted with the revere nd Docto r Ryder to grave l one :idre d and twenty perche s of the bank for the sum of ten pound s, eh he receiv ed,

17,8.

Tyrone Navigation, the C~~~t~!~n~f :~~ee~~~•hb~ibng called to give evidence to een on the waggon way said a that he was employed by the reverend Doctor Ryder to ~xecut~ the same at four shillings per perch for workmanship· that he made two hundred and forty perches; that the t i mber ias sufficient, but that the ground failed in some places· that there were near two hundred tons of timber used at fi~st making the said way, and afterwards some more in repairing the same ' but could not say how much, Then the reverend James Fetherston being examined touching the present state of the collieries, said, that the St~wartstown colliery is now in a more promising state than ever; that the Dromglass colliery cannot be worked to any advantage until an engine is erected for carrying off the under water. He further said, that he has heard the archbishop of Tuam give different accounts at different times, of the advantage to be expected in prosecuting the work; that in April, one thousand seven hundred and fifty six, he declared he would sell his share on being reimbursed half his expences, but yet refused to join the rest of the company in letting the colliery to him, insi sting on having his share of the profits; that he (Fetherston) re nted the collieries at five hundred pounds a year, and three pence per ton certain, and in case the quantity of coals sold in one year exceeded five thousand tons, that he contracted to pay two shillings per ton for the overplus, that the archbishop directed that the canal should be put under his (Fetherston's) care, but refused any money for the suwort of it, except thirty pounds, Which he received from alderman Bailie in consequence of the archbishop's letter, already inserted in this report.

The right honourable Arthur Hill being presentt ~~nfirmef the evidence given by Mr. Fetherston,tand s11iv! h~undr:dy;~~is) rent which he (Fetherston) was bound O pay t of the sum expended was the full interest at five pounds per can· by the company on the said works. ton being further examined, F th tructions and difficulties Then the reverend James e s1rsb O but cannot say by s said, that he had met with sever for raisi ng engine bargain; aforesaid the since he concluded th th e ~r:! once evidently by at Whom they were occasioned; st Water was four times clande inely ~~or he took possession of the b desi n· that he design; that a level fell in soon a e th rown do~or~ed upg Jina the level works, which he believes was ' Piled it and that then the piles were thrown d~wn at two different times.

17,8.

20-.

J30.

Tyrone Navigation, Edward Forde, clerk to the company, being asked whether he ever refused liberty to Mr. Fetherston or any other gentleman to inspect his books, said he never did; but being desired to recollect himself, informed the Committee that he had refused Mr, Fetherston more than once frequently, but t hat he never refused Mr. Staples, nor any other person• that he thought himself obliged to account with every member of the company, and that his reason for refusing Mr. Fetherston was, that there had been a little misunderstandin g between them; that he thought himself obliged to account with every member of the company, when called upon; that he never settled any account with the archbishop; but that he had produced vouchers to every article except a few, when he settled accounts With Mr. Staples and Mr, Fetherston.

Then the reverend James Fetherston said, that he had applied twice, in writing~ to Mr, Forde, for leave to view his books , but was refused, Mr. ~·orde saying he was obliged to account only with the archbishop; that Mr. Staples and he signed Mr, Forde's accounts at the end of the year, one thousand seven hundred and fifty-five, but did not look on the account to be settled 1 Forde not having produced sufficient vouchers for several of the articles.

The said Edward Forde being asked whether he had ever been informed that the colliery company had made an order to prevent his paying money without the direction of Mr. Fetherston, said he was• but that he had paid money since by order of the reverend Mr. st~ples, and by order of the reverend doctor Ryder, who was impowered by his father the archbishop of Tuam to give him ;uch directions; and said that he had no order from the company or ro ~ing, Then the reverend James Fetherston informed th de Cbommitht tee, that he had d a co py of the orders ma e Y 9 given Mr. Fore (Which was admitted by company, relative to payment oftm~nerhat he had received from Mr, Forde).

And he also admit 8 , d i ht hundred and eighty the company the sum of three thousan t~ gnat sum granted by pounds, which, as he is informed, is e s colliery. And the nd parliament for the waggon-way a bDr~g!~~ount produced and laid same appeared to your Committee, Ya before them by the said Mr. Forde. ine what disbursements The Committee then proceeded t~k~xamand a paper containing had been made on account of said w~ en'in by the said Edward the particulars of the same, was g v

1758, Tyrone Navigation, Forde; which had been examined article by article by the reverend James Fetherston, and observations made thereon which he delivered in writing to the Committee, and declared that the same were just and true, to the best of his knowledge and belief, except some immaterial error may have crept in from the shortness of the time allowed him to examine so long an account.

Which observations are as follow; £

s. d.

Total of cash paid by Edward Forde on the waggon road account, without vouchers

9'57 10 I+

Total of ditto, paid by ditto, on ditto account, without orders

460 1'5

6¾

Total of ditto, over-charged in ditto account

83 lit

6¼

12'50 2

9¼

Total of ditto charged regular

27'52

3 2¼

Total of cash paid by Edward Forde on Dromglass account, without vouchers ,.

•· •· ••

'5 13

Total of ditto, paid by ditto, on ditto account, Without orders

71t

Total of ditto charged regular

27 13 2

l

8 2¼

107 lit

~

17'5 I+

O½

Total of ditto, aid by ditto, on ditto account, 190 I+ Without orders P •• •• •• ••

Oi

Total of cash paid by Edward Forde on the navigation account, without vouchers••

Total of ditto over-charged in ditto account Total of ditto charged regular

••

6 16 10

268 12 2¾ 61+0 17

2

17,B.

~.

Tyrone Na vig ati on ,

n1-. £

Cash dis bu rse d by Edward Ford e on the waggon-way t n on di tto Di tto dis bu rse d by Jam es Fe the r so

Dromglass Cash dis bu rse d by Edward Fo rde on acc ou nt Di tto by Jam es Fe the rst on , on di tto exp enc es Total of Dr om gla ss, and wa gg on -ro ad the na vig ati on Cash dis bu rse d by Edward Fo rde on Di tto by Jam es Fe the rst on

s. d,

2752 3 2-¼ 196 7 10¼ 2948 11

Oi

107 14

5½

90 4 9-¼ 197 19 3 3146 10 Ji 61+0 17

2

45 11 3 686 8 5

(E rro rs ex cep ted ) tri x, En gin eer to the ea Gr m llia Wi d lle ca e itte mm Co Then the lli eri es , pre sen t sta te of the corts the of nt ou acc an e giv to y, pan :2m als in the Ste wa tow n co of d fun ge lar a is re the at th •uo sai d, omglass is the be tte r ve in;are Dr at Th . ies er lli co ss gla om Dr anhd at the re t at it is from fou r to fiv e fee t in thi ck ne ss. Th ya rds ye ar the y went bu t th irt yaft st la is th at Th k. sun s aft sh ~ix in eve ry sh . sed rai be y ma day a in s ton y irt th eep, Th at en. That the pit has beenThat hav ite Wh the e lik is al co the at Th red . no end of the co als dis co ve proved for two mi les , andely rem ent ion ed. afo co ve red , un der the another ve in ha s be en lat tandis ya rds . That the re is a two ly on t dis are ins ve two That the we ll pay the we r any demand, and would su ffi cie nt qu an tit y to ans be rai sed at_two may y the at Th es. nc pe ex eir th rs pro pri eto ing s and eig ht- pe nc e, ill sh six for ld so are and ton r sh ill ing s pe are six sh aft s sunk; re the , ery lli co n tow fts wa Ste the That in rai sed and tha t th irt y ton s may be fee t tha t on ly thr ee are workeatd, the is from fou r to six in ve Th , aft sh h eac in da ily gro un d. That six ty der un rds ya nty e sev to e elv tw m thi ck , and fro That a waggon-way was ~ade is rk. wo the in yed plo em be y ma men which rry the co als to the can al, about fou r ye ars ago to ca of a mi le, and communicates er art qu a t ou 'ab pit the m fro t dis tan are conveyed to Newry, and liit h Lough-Neagh, from whence the y oth er pa rts of the co un try .

17,s.

Tyrone Navigat ion.

Then the reverend James Fetherst on being examined said that the whole amount of coals sold from the first of May 0 ~ 8 thousand seven hundred and fifty six, to the fourth of Feiruar one thousand seven hundred and fifty-eig ht, was six thousand Y, four hundred and forty one tons, at six shilling s per ton· that for some time he had delivere d forty five tons per day abd could continue to do so, and even more, were it not fof the defects in the waggon way, Being asked what those defects are ' he said, that in some places the ground had sunk under the Andfarth er that the road timber which caused it also to yield, should have been double, by which a double quantity might be discharg ed.

William Greatrix being asked, whether he had ever computed what sum it would take to repair the old road, and malte a new one, said, that he had made a rough estimate , and believes it might be done for seven or eight hundred pounds. He said that there are other collieri es in that neighbou rhood, and that he believes a vein of coals runs through all that country. That there is one in the estate of Andrew Thomas Stewart, Esq.; &nith's and Kendal coal. One in the estate of Thomas Knox, Esq.; One in the school lands of Dungannon, like the Dromgla ss coal. but does not know of what kind. One on Dungannon glebe, and another at Anagher, the estate of the honourab le and reverend Charles Caulfeil d, eleven feet in thicknes s.

And upon the whole the Committee came to the following resolutio ns.

1. Resolved , that it is the opinion of this Committee, that there is a fund of coals in the county of Tyrone, sufficisn t:to supply the kingdom of Ireland for some hundreds of years. the opinion of this Committee, now in a more flourishi ng state 2. Resolved 1 t ha t i t i s that the Stewarst own colliery is than ever. the O inion of the Committee, that which is occasion ed by 3, Resolved , that it is the waggon-way is much out of whrepiahrthe timber is laid. c the yielding of the ground on inion of this Committee, th to be equal in goodness 4, Resolved , that it is e op that the Dromglas s coal, which appea~~ an ~ofit, until an to the Whitehav en, cannot be ~aisedrr yingyoff the under water. engine is erected in the pit or ea t this Committee, that three 5, Resolved , that it appears ~unds which was the net sum thousand eight hundred and eig~~yc~nsequ~nce of a parliame ntary received by the coal company,

i

-.

1758.

Tyrone Navigation. grant made in the year one thousand seven hundred and fift three, was by them paid into the hands of Edward Forde thelr cashier, to be applied in making a waggon-way and in ki the pits at Dromglass, ' wor ng

6. Resolved, that it appears to this Committee, that two hundred and forty perches of said waggon-way were made, 7, Resolved, that it appears to this Committee that said Edward Forde laid before them an account of two tho~sand eight hundred and fifty nine pounds seventeen shillings and eight pence, said to be by him disbursed on said works, 8, Resolved, that it is the opinion of this Committee, that only the sum of one thousand two hundred and seve nty seve n pounds fifteen shillings and eleven pence farthing was regul arly accounted for by said Forde, 9, Resolved, that it appears to this Committee, that the

reverend James Fetherston, agent to the company, accounted for the sum of two hundred and eighty six pounds twelve shillings and seven pence three farthings laid out by him on said works.

10, Resolved, that it appears to this Committee, that Edward Forde did several times refuse leave to the reverend James Fetherston to inspect his books, alledging that he was .accountable only to his Grace the archbishop of Tuam, 11. Resolved, that it appears to this Committee, that said Forde did several times pay money by the sole order of the archbishop and of doctor Ryder his son, though he ha~ been served wit& an order signed by the companyt not to ma e any payment, but by direction of the reverend James Fetherston. the opinion of this Committee, 12, Resolved, that it is fit person to be entrusted with that Edward Forde is not a publick money. rs to this Committee, that the 13, Resolved, that it appe~ t the colliery company, hath reverend James Fetherston, agen ° fi ulties thrown in his way met with various obstructions an~ d~ffe~t the lntentions of said by evil-minded persons, tending O e r the expectations of the company, to make those collieries answe publick.

,;;:,,

1758.

1~5.

Tyrone Na vig ati on .

14. Re sol ve d, tha t it is th

0 ini on of the Committee e rst the Fe es Jam nd ere the rev tha t ilf ul and fai thf ul off ice r, and ha s bee n ve ry us efu fnt 0 sthae sk Committee in thi s enq\i,iry,

1

i is the sol ve d, tha t it cou 15. Re nio n of thi s Committee, op nt na vig ati on in the

tha t the ~fb Ty ~~ ne is at pre sen t in a very bad sta te, wh ich is occ asiiro~e l theglect of_ thetiocoa ein t y ntr co the ng mi for per t n no company in the nav iga ac w board. the op ini on of thi s c 16 . Re sol ve d, tha t it is to tio n ~! t~ ~: , tha t iga naV a e mak s ou age ant adv ry ve it woulld be Dromg ass co al- pit s to the can al. ittee, tha t the op ini on of thi s Comm 17 , Re sol ve d, tha t it isnec make the wag gon roa d to ary ess and l efu us ry ve be uld it wo double, the op ini on of thi s Committee ~irtha t 18 , Re sol ve d, tha t it is the whole pu t in thorough rep , and ' the same may be eff ec tedeig ht hun dre d pou nds . for a sum no t exc eed ing s to thi s Committee, tha t the 19 , Re sol ved , tha t it app earnav iga tio n board in the yea r coal company co ntr act ed wi thandthefif ty fou r, to pu t in rep air one tho usa nd sev en hu nd red y one tho usa nd seven hundred and fif ty before the fir st day of Ma ~yr 2 one nav iga tio n in sai d deed of f ive , ce rta in pa rts of the the sum of fiv e hundred and for , ed ifi ec sp ly lar cu rti pa ct tra con nty p the whole in rep air for twe eig hty pou nds , and als o to kee one ers sal ari es, for the sum of one ye ars , and pay loc k-k eep hundred and tw ent y fiv e pounds ye arl y, t his ear s to thi s Committee, tha 20 , Re sol ved , tha t it app d m (one of the pa rtn ers ofsaisai Grace the arc hb isn op of Tua works, d of exe cut ion company) too k upo n him sel f sol ely the thi s Committee, tha t sai d 21. Re sol ved , tha t it app ear s toto co ntr act . works are no t com ple ate d pu rsu ant op ini on of thi s Committee, ytha t 22. Re sol ved , tha t it is the sai d to be exe cut ed, are ver as were SUch pa rts of sai d works be ch rib ute d to the low pri cesgiv(mu ins uff ici en t wh ich must ich att en by grounded) was act ntr co the wh on ate im es! below the der his son , to such per son s his Grace and the rev ere nd do cto r Ry as un der too k the same.

Tyrone Navigation.

23. Resolved, that it appears to this Committee, that the

archbishop of Tuam received from the navigation board five hundred and eighty pounds, being the full sum contracted for and also two hundred and fifty pounds, being two years salary, _f~r keeping the works in repair, though no attempt was made by his G?ace towards executing many of the articles in said contract.

24. Resolved, that it is the opinion of this Committee, that

the not perfecting the said works, is a great obstruction to the navigation, and an injury to the publick, And a motion was made, and the question being put, that the consideration of the said report be adjourned until Thursday next.

It passed in the negative.

Then the resolutions of the Committee were again read.

To which resolutions the question being severally put, the House did agree.

Ordered that the said report be printed, and th at Mr, b t Speaker do a~point the printing thereof, and that no person u such as he shall appoint, do presume to print the same.

Resolved, Nemine Qontradicente, th at i~ isi!h~r~~~~doft;h ~e corporation for promoting an inla nd navigat on en and in'good careful in keeping the canals and navig~tion ~Pitts in the repair, between the town of Newr~r~o!t~a~ ~~r spfor the keeping county of Tyrone, and to oblige t erform their contracts; the the work s upon the said cana~s, 0 P itts and Newry, bei ng of communication between the said coa 1 P great importance to the publick.

131

1759House of Commons Journal , Vo l. XI, p . 46;e . (1 0 Decenber, 1759) .

Tyrone Hav i gation : Committee (named) t o meet to ~nnu:re ~nto t of the collieries, in Tyrone and st9te of co!:als fro collieries f r on tne sea .

ct~te s· J

1761,

Journal of the House of Commons, Geo, III, Vol. xu, pp.l+Bl-l+S,J, Tyrone Navig ation.

Mr, Stewa rt :epor ted from the Comm ittee to whom it was referre d to take into consi derati on, the state of the canal from Loughneagh to the collie ries in the county of Tyrone , and if any and imat impro vemen ts are neces sary to compl eat the same· the matter as it appea red to them, and the resolu tions of th~ Committee thereupon; which repor t he read in his place, and after delive red 1n at the table , where the same was read, and the report and resolu tions are as follow , Mr, Speak er, The Comm ittee appoi nted to take into consid eratio n, the state of the canal from Lough neagh to the collie ries in the count y of Tyron e, and if any and what improv ements are neces sary to compl eat the same, have met accord ing to order and exami ned the matte r to them referr ed, and have direct ed me to repor t as follow s: Mr. Thomas Omer having been examin ed 1 sayd, that it is necess ary to carry the said canal nearer to the collie ries, for the mere ready conve ying of coals to the differ ent parts of thfs kingdom; and the said Mr. Omer produc ed the annexe d estima te, o which your Comm ittee refer . of the ble Committee thousa nd Agreeable to the order s of the Honoura House of Commons, dated the first daydo f ~~~~: ~•t~~e survey and n the seven hundre d and sixty , I have viewe an munic ate betweeand find f Tyrone levels of the navig ations neces sary thto com t e ~~a~t~ of said'n aviga tion Nelll'y canal, and the collie ries in the follow ing expen ces neces sary for su £ s. d, as are immed iately neces sary.

From the bason to the river Torren t at Cr~:~ :!h off rises thirty -thre e feet, which willd~ each •••• 4000 475 canal • • • • • T0 by four locks , at one thousa nd por O 25 • • • • • • • one hundr ed and ninety perch es 4110wance for slippi ng of banks ••••• ··· Tota1

ticpence from the

pits bason to the coal •••••• •• at Creena gh

4500

0 0 0

0 0 0

0

0

== ==

1761.

Tyrone Naviga tion. £ s. d. river Farlow to t Torren the up h From Creenag three hundre d and ninety -three perche s of' 982 10 0 canal, at two pounds ten shillin gs per perch s require feet, The rise of ground , seventy -one nine locks, at eight hundre d pounds each •••• 7200 0 0

Total expence from Creena gh to Farlow river ••• 8182 10 From the Torren t up Farlow river to Farlow lough, one hundred and ninety -four perche s of canal, 485 at tw pounds ten shillin gs per perch ......

The rise of ground , twenty -six feet, require s three locks, at eight hundre d pounds per lock • • • • • • • • • • . • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • . • • • • • • • • 24o0 100 To a draw-b ridge to Farlow house • • • • • • • • • • • • •

0

o

o

0 0 0 0

15667 10

0

Thursday, November the 12th, 1761.

Thomas Omer.

And upon the whole your Committee came to the follow ing resolut ions: that it is the opinio n of this Committee, that it ~rone, from the place called the Bason to Fairlou gh lough, near 8 Dungannon collie ries.

SUf Resolve d that it is the opinion of this Committee, that a f ficient qulmti ty of coals of the best kind, can be supplie d , and other parts fom the said collie ries to the city of Dublin 0 this kingdom withou t being obliged to depend upon a foreign d

Resolve 1 18 necessa ry to carry the canal higher up into the county of

M

~arket.

1

thi Resolved that it is the opinion of this Committee, that &ids llaviga ti~n from the Bason to Fairlou gh lough, deserv es the of Parliam ent. tn, / 0 which resolu tions, the questio n being severa lly put, ouse did agree.

/~ O

Journal of the House of Commons, Geo. III, Vol. XII, p.379.

Ordered, that the persons undernamed, or any five or more of them, be appointed a Committee to meet tomorrow morning 1 nine of the clock, in the Speaker's chamber, to inquire into the state of the canal from Lough-neagh to the Tyrone collieries, and if any and what improvements are necessary to make it useful to the publick, and what sum will be necessary for the same. And they have power to adjourn from time to time 1 and place to place, and to send for persons and papers, and to examine in the most solemn manner, such persons as they shall think proper, upon the subject matter of the said several inquiries; and all Members who come are to have voices.

Lord Boyle Mr. Stewart Mr. Fitz-Gibbon Mr. Thomas Knox Lord Newtown Mr. Thomas Knox, junior Magill Mr. Hon. Mr. Caulfeild Rt. Honble. Sir Wm.Fownes Sir Capel Molyneux Robert Fitz-Gerald Mr. Mr. Robert French Mr. Nevill Colonel Pomeroy Mr. Le Hunte Honble. Hugh Skeffington Hon. Hungerford Skeffington Mr. Henry Hamilton Mr. Moutray Mr. Bernard Ward Mr. Forde Mr. Nedham Mr. Hutchinson Mr. Hall Mr. Galbraith Lowry Rt. Honble. Mr. Clements Mr. Robert Lowry Mr. O'Neill Sir Archibald Acheson Mr. Sibthorp Mr. Wingfield Honble.

Mr. Anthony Foster Mr. Morres Mr. Pery Mr. Recorder Mr. Sarjeant Paterson Mr. John Knox.

Mr. Agar Mr. M1 Aulay

I tr l·

1761.

Journal of the House of Commons, Geo. III, Vol. XII, p,495, Tyrone Navigati on, Resolved , that it is the opinion of this Committe e, (]4), that the sum of three thousand pounds be given to the Right Honourable Lord Viscount Charlemo unt, Sir Archebal d Acheson, Bart.

William Brownlow , William Stewart, Galbrait h Lowry, Thomas Knox, senior, and Thomas Knox, junior, Esquires , or any three of them, to be by them applied towards making a navigabl e canal from the Bason in Drumreag h, in the county of Tyrone, to Farlough lough in said county, to be accounte d for to Parliame nt.

l) f 2 .

5 George III , Chap . l. pro mo ting and £1, 154 , 12 , 5. to the Co r por atio n for la t o be by them car r yin g on inl a nd nav i gat ion in Ire bynd,t he Commis s i one rs expend ed in dis cha r gin e the deb t due Drumgl a s s Co llie ry in for tha t par t of t he Nav i gat ion f r om nea r Newr y whi ch wa s the cou nty of Tyr one to Fat ham Poi nt fin ish ed l a st summer . fo r pro mot ing and The sum of £3 , 000 t o the Co rpo rati on Ire land t o be by th em car ryi ng on an inl and nav i gat ion in and i gat ion from expend ed tow ard s car ryi ng on an inl bas onnav i n t he cou nt y of Drumgl a s s Col lie ry to the col lie ry Tyrone ,

1789 , 29 Geo . 3, Chap . 31. ryrone Navigation : An Act for the more effectual sup port of the linen manufacture in the several count ies bordering on Lough Neagh, by making a commun ication between the said Lough and the collieries of Drumglass in County Tyrone . \>ine r ea s the inland navigation whi ch has been made from Lough Neagh towards t he collieries at Dru11glass in the county of ·r yrone canno t be c arried forward without a very gre at eJC1lense, and a communica ti on can be mad e at small expen se fro11 the head of the said navigation to the collieries by a trackway or waggan way, which would answe r all the purpo ses of navigation by giving a cheap sufficient and ready conveyance fo r coals ......

11

Sir John Staples and James Caulfeild to have a wa rr ant for £2 , 000 for making said road .

To be made within two yea rs .

IJ\A-.

1802 .

- 132 .

HcEvoy 's Sta tist ica l Surv ey of Cou nty Tyr one , pp . 131 Lough The nav iga tio n f rom Coa lisla nd near Dungannonatto pre sen t hal f , is Neagh, in len gt h abo ut thre e mil es and a ost ed with weeds . but ind iffe r ent ly atte nded to : it is alm ing chok coa ls from the The chi ef use of this can al is for con vey ~ht unt o col lier y . Some tim ber and oth er arti cle s are brou ntry on cars Coa lisl and whi ch are disp erse d t hrou gho ut the cou and ho r ses . which runs The only nav igab le rive r is the Blac kwa ter t ance abo ut ten mil es from Lou gh Neag h to Blac kwa ter t own , dis als which req uire by wat er . In its cou rse are two or t h ree 80sho ton s burd en and to be rem oved . The boa ts are from 20 to s from Newry br i ng to Blac kwa tert o1m seve r al kind s of good h Neagh) such (from whi ch town the r e is also a can al toes,Loug salt , etc . and as tim ber, slat es , iro n, coa l , culm , ash po tat oes and also br ing ba ck ba rley , oat s , and som etim es each gre ens in t h e line n clo th as t he re ar e two exte nsiv e bl is only four mil es nei gh bour hoo d of Bla ckw ater tow n . Arma gh el the whole way ; from this vil lag e with an alm ost dead lev . a can al woul d of cou rse by foun d qui te pra ctic able Moy to A cana l made f r om Ver ner ' s ferr y or from theedin g fi ve not exce Dungannon , b0 t h abo ut the same dist anc ewel l circ ums t ance d mil es by land wou ld ren der Co . Tyro ne (thi s_ view . pe r hap s as much so any cou nty in the kin gdom ns in advance d by McEvoy beca use of the many blea ch gree that pa rt of the cou nty) .

1812 , Wakefield ' s Ireland, 1812, Vol . I, p . 64 1 .

Ac count of works that have been actually executed under the oowers vested in the Directors General (of Nav i gation) by t ~e Act of George III .

The Canal from Lough Neagh to t he s ea has been restored, deepened, improved and finished . The navigable cut across , across the penin sula of Magh ery, to the Blackwate r, where vessels we r e constraine d to unlade on one side and re-shi p on the ot he r, is finished .

The navigable c anal f r om the collieries at Coal Isla nd to t he Bla ckwater , opposite the Maghe ry cut, and so to Lough Neagh was finished . A br idge over the nav i gation , and one of the old locks , have given way and are r ebuilding .

1812.

Wakefield ' s Ireland , Vol .I, p .638.

--'

-)·

l~d(I~

A c anal has been cut from Coal Isla nd to Armagh and f rom t ha t inland sea nea r Portadown to Newry . A f rei gh t of 4/- per ton is cha r ged f or this navigation , but t here is little t r ade and when I was t he re i n 1809 it was nearly choked up wi t h weeds .

An attempt has been made to cut a canal from Lough Neagh to Belfast and t hough it is pr ett y fa r advan ce d , ever yt hing is now at a sta nd .

Ibid, Vol . I, p , 651 .

The Belfast Canal to Lough Neagh is at a stand .

The Coal Isl and Canal has been finished but is seldom used .

1837 , Lewis ' s Topo gr aphic al Dictio nary of Irelan d .

Coal Island : Co a l Isla nd origin ated in the f o r ma tio n of the Tyrone Canal which was begun by the Govern ment in 1 744 and was intend ed t o int e rsect the entire coal field of Tyrone but was not carrie d beyon d this pl a ce . 'I'he c anal is not more than three miles f r om the Blackw ate r, whi ch it joins nea r Lough Neagh , to Coal Islan d , but it has been commenced and pa rti al ly comple ted in sever al pl a ces we s t war d ; bridge s ha ve been erect ed over t h e l ine; an a queduc t of three l a r ge a rch es was yo have convey ed it over t he Te rren; and a r ail r oad was to have conne cted it wi t h some of the minor collie ries, fo r wh ich pur pos e a viadu ct, here c a lle d "the Dry Hur ry " was t h rown up Al l these ov er the Coo ksto~m r oad t wo miles from Dungan non . in and ed edific es are of hewn freest one hand somely finish good preser v a ti on , but in many p l aces the canal is filled up and cultiv ated, so t ha t in a few ye a rs t he line will not be t r ace abl e.

This is now a pl a ce of consi de r able tr ade, and has 35 l ar ge lighte rs or b arges which fre quentl y make coasti ng voya ge s to Dublin and someti mes a cross the Ch an nel to S?otla nd • • • .. • . • • The expo rt s are c oa l, spades , fire - bricks , fire - cl ay , cru cibl es, e arthen wa re, li nen cloth , wheat , oats, flour , etc, the impor ts a re timb er, de als , iron , salt , slates , glass , etc .

1843 , Ia rtin ' s Irel and Befo r e and

fter t he Unio n , p . 136 .

The Ty r one Nav igat ion was exec uted at the publ i c expe nse our agin g t he wor:r in g of cert ain colli e r ies at 1,it h a view to en c Very exa gge rated state men ts of the valu e and coal Islan d . nt exten t of the coal beds in the di stric t Here :::ade to Parl ia:.e T'ne ton.l'la ge in and led to a wast eful and u sele ss expe ndi ture .

1836 amou nted to 7 , 291 and of t he expo rt tonn a ge coal only amounted to 718 tons .

From Belf a st to Coal Islan d t he leng th of the 1:avi ga tion is 61 mile s, from Ne1-.T y 39½ mile s .

/

1906 . commissi oners Reports , Vol . I , Appendix 2 .

Evidence of •!r . Gee . A. Stevenson , Commissione r of Public Works , 21 March , 1906 .

Tyrone Navigation , br anches off t he Blackwater River about 3 miles from Lough Neagh and terminates at Coal Isla nd, co . Tyrone , 4 miles , 40 chains . Begun by Comm issioners of Inland Navi gation under Act of 1729; transferred t o a loc al corporation in 1787, to the Directors of I nland Navi gation in 1800 , from whom it passed to the Commission ers of Public Wo rks i n 1831 and was finally transferred to the Lag an Navigat ion Company in 1888 .

(5)

Original cost £25 , 813,

Number of locks 7 , 1 double .

}5"0.

1907 , second Repo rt of the Roya l Comm ission on Cana ls and Inlan d (Vol. II) .

Navi gat ion 1907 . coal Islan d Cana l or Tyron e Navig at i on La gan Navi ga tion (Company.

Length 4 miles 32 chs .

Origi nal cost £31,4 1 7 . e.

Number of locks 7, 1 doubl 11 1 W. 14 1 10", Dh . 5' 1 • , 6 65' . &nall est lock , L 11 1 1 Lar gest boat using L. 62 1 O", w. 14 6 , dh , 5' O" .

Max. Load possi ble 80 tons .

Usual load 60 to 80 tons .

Total Rise 5'1 ' l ".

11 Headway (min) of bridg es to crown of arch 9 ' 4 •

151 1950 .

Inland \late r ways of Gr ea t Brit ain , No . 132 , p . 388 .

Authority :

Lagan Navigation Company, Stran!:lillis, Belfast .

From and To : Juncti on with River Bl a ckwa ter, 3 miles f r o:n the sout h - weste rn c orne r of Lough Neagh to Coalisland , Co . Tyrone .

Distance .

4½ miles .

Maximum Dimensions for Craft Using Wat er way .

Locks .

Length Beam Drau1:;h t Head r oom

62 ft . 6 ins .

14 ft . 6 ins .

ins . gftft .. 00 ins .

7 (1 double) .

ToWing Pa th . Throughout Na vigati on .

Bri dges .

Road Bridges cr oss the Canal at Locks 3, 5 and 7 .

Gene r al Rema r ks .

Con s t ructi on on t he Coalisland Canal com'Jenced in 1 732 and was completed b ef ore the end of the 18t h century .

The s ources of water supply are t1-10 feeders at Coali sland Basin , one from a dam and the othe r a small stream .

Special No t e . With t he Upper Reaches of the Lagan Navigatio the abandonment of the Coalisl and Canal is under considerat i on .

1753 -

27 George II, Chap . 3.

Lagan Cana l .

An Act for makin g the rive r Lagan navigable and openin~ a pa ssa ge between Lough Neagh and the town of Belfast .

To cut a c anal from Spencer ' s Brid ge to Lough 1:eagh in the mo st c onveni e nt ma nner .

lS3

1753 House of Common s Journal , Vol . IX, p . 138 . t agan Navigation .

That it is the opini on of the Com~ittee that a sum not exceeding £20 , 000 be gr anted fo r opening a r~ssage by water between Belfast and Lough Neagh .

1757.

Journal of the House of Commons, Geo. II, Vol. x, pp.346 -347.

Lagan Naviga tion.

A petitio n of the right honour able Alexan der Earl of

Antrim, Wills Earl of Hillsbo rough, Francis Earl of Hartfo rd, Arthur Hill, and Hercul es Langfo rd Rowley Esquire s; and of Charles O'Neil l, William Richard son, and Bernard Ward, Esquir es, was presen ted to the House and read; setting forth, that in the year one thousan d seven hundred and fifty four, they were appoint ed by the corpor ation for promoti ng and carryin g on an inland naviga tion in Ireland , commis sione rs for making the river Lagan naviga ble, and opening a passage by water from Lough Neagh to the town of Belfas t. That they have accord ingly proceeded upon the said work, and have carried it on with good success for severa l miles up the said river. That his Majesty, pursuan t to the address of this House the last Session of Parliam ent, was pleased to grant the sum of six thousan d pounds toward s the expence of the said work, which sum has been laid out by the petitio ners, who are ready to a ccount for The Petitio ners further beg leave to represe nt, the same. that the additio nal excise upon beer, ale, and spirits , in certain distric ts or walks, which was granted by Parliam ent in the year one thousan d seven hundred and fifty three, and approp riated to making the said river naviga ble, has fallen short of what was expecte d to arise from it; and that particu larly this last year, from the calami ties of the times, and the scarcit y of grain, it has produce d very little. And that the petitio ners cannot but apprehe nd, that unless they are further aided by Parliam ent this great work, which, if finishe d, would produce many materi al advanta ges to the trade of this kingdom must be at a stand; and praying the House to take the premis~ s into consid eration .

1759.

Journa l of the House of Commons, Geo, II, Vol. XI, pp.344 -391, Lagan Naviga tion: Conway Spence r, Esq. to the Right Honoura ble the Corpor ation for promot ing and carryin g on t he Naviga tion of the river Lagan from December 1757 to December 1759, This very detaile d accoun t of the monies expended in the above period is a most exhaus tive summaryof costs beside s giving much inform ation on labour ers, masons, carpen te rs, stone- cutters , smith s, sawyer s, horse-w ork, etc. return s.

James Hudson was then Pay Clerk to the Commissioners and Joseph Wether by engine er, Locks are mention ed individ ually and salarie s of lock-ke epers shown, Wetherby who is mention ed on an i ns c ribed stone at Moore•s Lock, Tyrone Naviga tion, dated 1749, seems to have died during operat ions on the Lagan as accoun ts show (p,374, No,162) by "Joseph Wether by's widow's recei pt for a quarte r's salary, due to her l ate husban d, as engine er, the first inst as per receip t dated t he eightee nth of Decemoer, one thousan d, seven hundre d and fifty eight,

1759 , Brooke, Henry.

I nland Naviga tion . Faulkiner Dublin

1759 , "On the River Lagan (Mr . Ome r ) has also finished 8 locks of hewen stone and completed a navigation of about Wo r k 6 miles between Belfast and Lisburn" . P. 55 . dedi cated to the Lord Vi sc ount Charlemont .

"But an inland navigation is a never I bid , p . 68 . dyi ng benefactor . I t r equires no hot houses, nor costs, no r cautions, for cherishing and prese rv ing t he ar ts alive . It is a maste r of ce r emonie s t hat consti tut e s and confirms what ever it int roduces a proprietor of t he soil; and, of i ndustry, by its approved and never failing influence, becomes as the great t r ee in the vision of Nebuchadne zzar, whose hei ght reach ed to h eaven and its branches to the ends of the eart h , and of whose fruit s all flesh was f ed ."

P. 25. "These canals se r ve as links or chords t o the

communit y , t hey bind r eg i on to r egion , house to house , and man to man and hold t he whol e as one sys t em or fam i ly together . 11

1161. iournal of the House of Commons, Geo. III, p,495 (Vol. XII).

Lagan Navigation.

()3) Resolved, that it is the opinion of this Committee,

that a sum of four thousand pounds be given to the Corporation !or promoting and carrying on an Inland Navigation in Ireland, to be by them applied towards making the river Lagan navigable and opening a passage by water from Loughneagh to the town of Belfast, to be by them accounted for to Parliament.

1761, Journal of the House of Commons, Gao, III, Vol. XII, pp,48)-4 84.

Lagan Navigati on.

Mr. Robert Hami~to n reported from the Committe e, to whom it vas referred to exallll.ne the matter of the petition of Alexande r Earl of Antrim and others; the matter as it appeared to them and ~ e resolutio ns of the Committe e thereupo n ; which report he fead in his place, and after delivere d in at the Table, where the same wa s read, and the report and resoluti ons are as follow, Mr. Speaker, The Committe e appointe d to examine the matter of the petition of Alexand er Earl of Antrim, Wills Earl of Hillsbor ough, Francis Earl of Hartford , and others, relative to a navigati on of the river Lagan from Loughneagh to the town of Belfast, have accordin gly examined the same, and have directed me to report as follows; Thomas Omer being examined in the most solemn manner deposed, that ha has been the sole director and manager of the intended navigation from Belfast to Loughnaa gh; sayth that he is morally certain, that the whole sum granted by Parliame nt in the last se ssion of the last Parliame nt has bean pr ope rly and frugally expended by his directio ns in ca rrying on t he said navigatio n by James Hodson pay clerk to the Commiss ioners, and the said Thomas Omer further sayth he wrote to the said James Hodson, de siring him to come to Dublin in order to make up his a ccounts concerni ng 6he said sum, and he is morally certain that his not attendin g this 0mlllittee is due to some accident , and the said Thomas Omer further sayth, that the said navigati on is practica ble and eas? to be executed and Will be when finished a useful and benefici al work, and that'ten locks all of hewn stone are already finished , that Six pen locks of hewn stone across the river are likewise finished , and six bridges all of . hewn stone, and that it will require nine locks more and three pen lock s that it will require six miles of ~anal to be cut in order to co~pleat the navigatio n from Belfast 1° LoUgh-neagh that the canal so far as it is already finished t~a°r great utility to the public, and that a furthe r sum of four Usand pounds will be necessar y to c arry on th e same.

And the Committe e came to the fo l lowing resolutio ns. th a~ of openiRneaolved that it is the opinion of this Commi ttee, e will gh, Loughnea to !?eat g a Pas;age by water from Belfast lervice to the public.

-r-.

1161.

Journal of the House of Commons, Vol. XII. 1,agan Navi gatio n.

Resolved, that it is the opin ion of this Committee, t hat the said work dese rves and requ ires the furth er aid of Parl iame nt.

Resolved, that it is the opin ion of this Comm ittee, that a !Ulll of four thou sand poun ds, is nece ssary t ow ar ds comp leati ng the said navi gatio n.

To which reso lutio ns the ques tion being seve rally put, the House did agre e.

JbO. 1763 .

3 Geor e III, Chap . 1 .

0

,akine the river Lagan navigable and openi ng a oassage by water froill Lough Neagh to Belfast - to be accounted f or to Parliament and the sum of £4 ,ooo to t he Cor po r ation for promot i ng and carrying on navigation in Ireland t owa rds making and comp leting an inland navigation for shi ps of one hundr ed tuns burthen from Fatho::i Poi nt nea r Newr y to Drumglas s Colli ery in Tyrone .

I bI. 1779- 1780 · 19 and 20 Ge or ge III, Chap . 32 .

Lagan Navi gation : An Act for e xte nding and explai ning the sever al l aws mad e in this kin gdom f or the carry i ng on t he Lagan Nav i ga tion . (mentions ea r lier Act of 27 Geo . II) .

From Belfast t h r ough Blairis to Spencer ' s Bri dg e and thence to Lough Neagh . };entions such navi ga ti on a s ha s already been made out of the bed of t he river by a c ana l or cut .

/ 1,2.

1837 • Lewis ' s Topographi cal Dictionary of Ireland .

Lagan Navigation : Shankill : The Lagan Na vi gation jo ins Lough Neagh i n that part o f the parish that ext ends into County Down.

1837• Lewis ' s Topogra phical Dictiona r y of Ireland .

Lagan Navigati on : Lurgan : A facility of intercou rse with Belfast is affo r ded by the Lough Neagh and the Lagan Navigati on and the trade of the to1m is progress ively increasi ng .

l b Pi 1843 , ~artin ' s Ireland Before and Aft e r t he Union, p . 136 .

The Lagan !,aviga tion was begun in 1753 for the pur pos e The tonnage i n 1836 of conne cti ng Belfa s t with Lough Neagh . a~ounted to 44,700 tons, the tolls to £2 , 060 .

Fro::i Belfa st to Coa l Is land t he leng th of t h e Navi ga tion is 61 miles, from Newry 39} miles .

1859- 60 - 61.

Transa cti ons o f the Institutio n of Civil Engineers of Irelan d , 25th and 26th session, 1 859- 60- 61 , Vol. VI. pp . 36- 40 . (Dublin 1863 .

Lagan Na vi ga tio n : This navi ga tion extends twenty - eight miles. from Louah Neagh to the quays at Belfast , f r om whence to the first lock there a re two miles in the tide - way . The ~um ll i t level. eleveh miles in length, is 112 feet 6 inches above t he Belfast Lough .

There a re twe nty - seven locks' and 71 feet above Lough Neagh . in all , of which seventeen comp l ete the rise between .:;elfast and the srnnmit, four of them , in close proximity , called t!le union locks, ascend at a distan ce of thirteen miles fror.i belfast , from the river to the summit whence the navi ga tion to the lou::;h is art ificial , about three - fourths of the whole length being similarly circumstan ced . The summit leve l is ca r ried over t!'le river Lagan six miles three - qu a rt e rs f r oin the Union Locks , by an aqueduct of four a rches . The chambers of the loc~s are 65 feet 3 inches long , and 15 feet 6 inches wide, wit n 6 feet 6 inches depth on t he sills in winter . The locks between Belfast and the summit having been built of red ·sandstone, be cam e so dilapidated that l arge pi eces had to be cut out of the side walls, and replaced with fire - brick , but basaltic st one having been used at the Lour,h Neaah side no such reparation Has found necessa r y .

The levels of th~ r espe ~tive reaches a r e m~il'ltained ,by ~en_ weirs , and over - falls c ons truc ted on the usual principle , t~e ,or_,er have from eie;ht to fifteen sluices in ea ch of the.J respecthre y .

The a rtif icial cut s have a breadth at bottom of 30 feet, a ,a '.)l feet 6 inches at wate r surface, and, exce pt in verf dr y _s~asons , barges dr a ~1ing f rom 5 to 6 feet pas s freely, carryine su:1.,y to seve nty tons burthen .

0

This is one of the many n rojects commence~ ui:iae~ t he auspices of our native legisl~ture , defe ctive in oesigr:i , and ?onse quen tly attended with ever - recurri ng i'.!lpedi.nents . aunng mean s ce of sufficient . t d by the absen its constr- t··ion , aggrava In t ;1e yea r ~ . _ t e ll? fo r completi on under unfavourab le c ircums an c, s . - ~- . . ~ ~753 t he Boa r d ' of Inl and Navigation w1;s et1powere\f Y ... ne / ·~~ <7t h Geo II c 3 to make the rive r La:-an naviga 0 t_e,ana~n_1.,0U"ll' · · ' • op 0 f B lfa lle:n, a pa ss age by water between the ~<?wn_ ad~iti~nal a.uti c; ~n order to carry ~ut ~hat 0 t Jet , on certain a r ticles 1,e r g\ a:1 ~'t;,rou,h ,:h ich t;ie br/~ evied by c onsent of ,., he ,1 nb~1;Ji 0 st nav~--ht for consumptio n into t ~e : r_i c c~mmenced. soon after . tho ear .. th eation was to extend . The works ,,e r e 17i P3ssin~ of the above - mentioned Act, and ,-,e::e ~~ve, ;1ioweci • b3 advanced in their cons truction so f~r t~s L~~burn , a distance of ~r t of forty tons to pass frfom B~~~~spe ri od for publi c tr affi c . even · nelish miles, open rom

1859- 6 - 61 • Lagan Navigation : Th e follow~,ns , _yith r efe r en ce to this subje ct, auue rs in ,; r . t he Reports of _ ci:ie '.:;..Juse of Commons for t oe yea r 1767~ Thomas ·Omer , Civil i,ng:~ neer, having been exa:nined, stated , that "bet ween_ Be;-fast and LJ.,sburn 1·1e ir, . there had been buil t twelve lac.ls ano. e.J.ght pen l oca:s , upon wh ich \·,ere ex1Jended about .i:l 000 each; t':lat it uoul d requi r e one mo r e l ar.:;e ,en lo ck ir:: Le t:i.cie way near 3el ast , i n order to ad:nit of a ya ss age for boats at oe:::, ti des , thi s would cost at lea st .i:l , OOO , and \!oul6 co2i:lcte t:ie nUJibe r of l ocks necess a ry bet,-reen Belfast and Li sburn ileir . r,,at t he digging yet to be done on the tr a c ln1ays woulc'. requ:'..re £5C:L , so that £1 , 500 would c omple t e t he nwi ga ti on from telfa stt o Lisburn weir for vess els of f r o'!! f orty to fift; tons bu:-Len .

That from Lisbu rn weir to Spencer ' s br idge , "' ciist:,nce ~f ab ut six miles , 1·1ou ld affo r d suffici ent worlc froc? th3t iler i od ~o c!:'!e next session , and woul d r equire £3 , 000 t o compl ete , supposin:; it to be carrie d on in the bed of the river" .

The Com,1ittee resolved th at i t ,-:as t hei r oninio!'J it ·· ld require £4 , 500 to comp lete t!'le navigation fro'.11 Lisburn weir to Spence r' s bridge , and t h at the £4 , 0JO g r anted in the l ast se ssion had be en a ccou h t ed for .

The ,/orks above referre d t o by ,·,r . Or1e r h vine; been co _ leted at an expense of :£43 , 304 , arisine fro'll t'?lls and grants , ~!16 ther e being no cor porate funds at conrn,ana , th e extension rro.'

Spencer' s br i dge to Lough Neagh was c a rried ou t und er t :ie ci r cct i o of lu : Owen , Civil I1ngineer, a t an expe,nse of £60 , 000 1 _ by t!"1, mun1f1cence of the Doneg al family , t o wno"1 th e nqv~gat1cn telonse~ until the early pa rt of t he pr esent century , w':len 1t \:as •. arc,~;:.sec: by a comp any of me r chants by who,tl several necessary improvec1en ts were effected amonr.st which may be enume r ate d the al~i nc; of t :C-:e betw:en the fou rth and fift h locl, s . Fro this artifi c ial leve l also five tunnel s were const ructe d , openin;; into the river ' \·Ii th ~alve 5 acting only when the wate r ~n the river is lo-.1.

An additional lock was made in t he tide - way a~out_ a mi le ~eare r to Belfast t h an the p reviou s r•;o . l l ock, in o~cer ~o fac:~1t ate the passage of boats in neau ti des; and the aegra~i~g er,e~t .

0 ~ the r ive r on some par t s of the ca nal was re ,1ediea b~ dr ;::v~ng 11es to support the banks . These i mprovement s Here erfec"ea etween the yea r s 1809 and 18;'.eO .

cui

g

No t l ess than eio-ht acts of parliament , com",enci ~g wit~ . the 27t h Geo II in 17 5 3 and ending wi th the 6th ana _?th Vi ~. in 184 , c onf e rr in" owe r; t o r ai se money to co!!lpl ete tnis 1:1na? r taking;' we r e obtai~e~ - and yet much that was felt ti:: be ~esiraole remains undone • The ~oney authorised to be borrowea. by cr:;e act Of 1843, has n; t been raised for the pro~os~d extension or _the nd con sequently the difficulty of entering canal to Bel f t from a certain po int r ema i ns un remec ied , tfows it ,1hen the w!~d '

Lagan N::iv:;.sat ion (cont ' d) . t,ut li ghters c :w :iass freely at all other the~ r•" >,•rr ,.-ater at neap tic1e~ . :i?:1e_ :,avi;;a~i on , ta'.rnn gene! ally~ ~s ~;:!1-·f;ir ~.-orifi!1;; or der, an n the snarehol cers have been receivin g a s~ 3 11 dividend .rJr the l ast few ears .

The~e we:,e t·w? ere~t errors i'1 t:1e orizinal rlan o.:' t!1is unde r~ akin::;? c,1e !H st ~e ing. through an ic'.:a o:'.' e conorr:y, :nai:'.r:: the n ver ':l th ~ I a l l or 80 I eet , ,n:rt of c'.!e navigatio r> bet· een Lisburn :::nc Belr ast , t ,1e rapi di ty of t'.!e current havinc- bee:-! a constantl y recurrin g cause of injury to t:ie ban:.:s, and :interrun t i on t o l:h e trade : t ~1e second error was t:1e insuffici1 .;nt su.1;r: .. ; of the head l eve l. For r EccJeciying t:1e first, ,.r . Robert ;.i.i;,1~rth . havi ng b~er:i ir: Irelar:id ~n the year 180.::,, was co s,1::. ted, and , recom11ena e o. tt!E abanaoni ng of the river as a n~vi,..ati? r., and turning it into tne head level for su,,ply , but the valuable :nilling interes ts woul6. have been so much injured t:· t!:e carrying out of h i s plan , that it Fas ab~Y!doned ar.~ ~al_i.:ti ves only re so rte d to .

Mr . i•iullins , in ~is Treatise on I nland ~:avi(.. ation , publi s!'1eC.

i:i 18;;3, obse rves that 11

This navigati on pa rt a~es of the defects of its time , tot~

a~ to design and c ost of executio n .

Continuin'"' iP t~e beC.s o.:' river s , even when running through flat countrie s little sub~ect

~o fl oods , is found gene r ally to be inferior to !)3rc.llel cuts : butin t ho se rivers subject to a sudden rise irc t:1eir waters, t>:e idea of makinc- the ,1 ner,nanen tly navigabl e, at a remuner~ tive cost, is a l mo~t ho-oeiess · the te ndency t'.!eY have to r aise t· eir beds, the c onstant· shifting of tneir channe ls , t e ,,ear anc casualtie s to wh ich they a r e so peculi arly liable , a'1d the consequen t cost of maintena n ce are cons i de r ations of such Wei~ht , that , if duly appre ciate d , the imp~oveJ1 ent of _rive_r navigatio ns , except in few inst ances, woulo not be uno er tao::en .

0

11

These t h eories, he continue s . "App lying a lmost uni ve r sa lly, a re. realiz~~ in o~~/~v;. ~s which have been r endered pa r tially navigabl e o, an ouc_a, -~r tnore than suff ic ient to make parallel lines of canals tnrou;h the dis tricts in which t hey respe ct~velf r un ; ~he river c::-u~s~s being in the l atter case left free 1or the . errorrrnn ~e of sue .. necessary operat io ns as dee oen i ng thei r ch annels, ana t~e • . removal of those obstacle s wh ich occasio? the c on ~tant overrlow;1-ng of their banks f or several months in eacn su~ cess1ve ye~r , to tn~ gre at det e rioratio n if not destruct ion, of -chousand s or ac r es 01 11nat would othe r wis~ be the best land in th e country" . of

Hr . William Chapman , wi tl; who~ 1,,r . ':-1:ll i ns. had th: 1:dvan~age fr equen t communi cation duri ng his resiaenc e in Irel~na , maKes

1859- 60- 61.

Laga n ;;avi ga ti on (con t • d) . ort , cate d obse rvat ions of a some what s i mi l a r natu re in his Rep and Solw ay e - on- Tyne 1795, on, the J: roro s e d c ana l betw een Newc astl ~abl e abov e Firth . He r eJe c cs the p l an of maki ng the r i-v er navi, and the the tide - 1-1a,: , on ~cco unt of its lia bili t y to floo ds of the botto m ; conse quen t rorm atio n of shoa l s, 01·1ing to the natu re s of keep i ng and he ob serv es, t hat flus h weir s or any othe r meanwith grea t the chan nel ope n i n dry seas ons, woul d be atten deda succ essi on e;."!)ense; that t he ri ve r c oul d no t be t hrow n into tior. of of stil l poo ls, ex c ept at an outl ay , for t he consltruc : and as t o lock s, exce edin g t hat of a c anal cu t thro ugh the andin~ off the forming a navi g atio n pa rtly composed of a c anal , cutt r it self , it sudden bend s of th e rive r , and pa rtly of the rive rive r the would par take of the inc onve nie nce of maki ng the to grea t chie f li ne of communic atio n , and woul d be subj e ct nce of this inte rrup tio n and dang er from floo ds . In cons eque thei r worr.s t he unde rt ake r s s houl d eith er be cont ent to have ream entr ance occa sion a lly ove rflo1-1ed , or they mu st, at thetheupst rive r erec t, a of ever y pa rt of t he cana l , whe re it leav es ds . The_ eX!'e nse guar d lock of a h ei gh t equa l to that of the floo toe of ever y such loc k , with its acco mpa nyin g weir , dandbe of -:;reat . very raise d tr a c;nra ys a lo ng the navi gabl e shor e , woul ent cana.!.

Under thes e c ircu ms t anc es he deci ded on a inde pend enti rely a c r oss t he dr y land . _ The co ndit ions unde r 1-1hi ch the impr ove, nent of river ,-men to red efer r navi gat i ons shou ld be unde rtak en , shal l be we come to tr ea t of arte rial dr a inag e oper atio ns , 0

1?06 . our Wate rways 1 U • . Forbes and W. H. R. Ashford (London : John iurraY, 190b) . · Acc or ding t o a Repo rt of a Committee f t~e Irish House of co:n:nons p re sented on 23 January 1800 , proceea ings and grants ' · t· - 1 ·d " Hou se o f commo n s in for 1n 1 an f na vit lga ion are recorded 2 t ·he ·· .L Act was passed "to an 1715 and 1703.

Journa_s rom .1e. y~ar encourage tn~ d r ain~ng and improving the Bogg and unprofitable low gr ounds ~or e~sing and despatching inland ca rri age and conveyance ?- goods from one po rt to another in this ki ngd 0 m" • -p . 181 fn is authorized

°

(1) (2) 2 Geo . I. Act of 17~9 3 Geo . II .

Act of 1751 25 George II. C. 10 .

Lagan connecting Belfast with Lough Neagh 1751.

Report of 1800, 40 George III, C. 51.

Newry and Tyrone Cana ls constructed under Act of 1729 .

Newry Navigation purchased by the Newry Navi gat io n and Ha r bour Trust in 1901. ~- 189. Total length 35 miles . The first po rtion between ?renpoint and Newry is a ship canal adm itting vessels drawing 1b feet of water wh ich is connecte d with the L01·1er Bann by a t arge canal joinin" it 16J. miles above Portado,m and thus carried _o Lough Neagh . Its summit level is 76 feet above sea level and feet above the Lough which is also connected with Belfast by t~e Laga~ naviga tion 25¾ miles in length , 6 of which are river u~~. remainder canal - a work commenced in 1 ?83 but not coml?leted t· l l the end of the century and which was 1n 1890 extendea. by ne acquisition of the Ulster Canal .

t?

~-192 • The Ulste r Canal which is 451 miles in length and runs c~om Blackwatertown (?) to Lough (Upper) Er ne was made by a . e ~Pany formed in 1826 unde r 6 George IV C. 193 . The wo r k which ex ended over a period of 15 ye a rs and on which over £200 , 000 /P1tal to which t he Government contributed £130,000 by way of was expended was transferred to the Board of Wo r ks in m 5 and again 1n '1890 to the Lagan Navigation and is no longe r a1nta1nea out of I mperial taxation .

18in

in length ,mich connects Coal f·194 . The Tyrone Canal 4 milesLough Neagh .

Bland with the Bla ckwater near

our waterways, U. A. Forbes and W.H.R. Ashford .

254. Ulster Amalgamation of Coal Island and Lagan Canals

~der Lagan Nav i gation Company 1894 .

,zo

11 I

19 6. commi ss i one r s Report s , Vol. I , Append ix 2 . . Steven son, Commi ss i oner of Public Evidence of l-ir . Geo .

Works , 21 Ha rch , 1 906 , (2) Lagan Navi ga ti on from Belfa st to Lough Neagh , 26 miles , 20 cha ins . Begun about 1 753 by Commi ss i oners of I nland Navigatio n ; hand e d over to a com pany in 1779 , comple ted early in the 19t h centu ry and now a fter var i ous vicissi tudes held by a company whi ch unde r 6th and '7 th Vic . cap 104 days £300 pe r a n to t he Exc heguer . I n 1880 pa i d divi dends of l ½ pe r cent on c ap i tal o f £80 ,149 .

Or i ginal cost : Expended by Commi ss ion e r s of I nland Naviga tion

£43 , 304

Expended by Ma r quis of Done ga l! out of privat e fund betwee n 1809 and 1820 .

£60, 000

Expe nded by Lagan Na vi gation Company 1885- 1889 .

£4 , 947 £108 , 251

Numbe r of loc ks , 27 .

1907 , second Report of the Royal Comrni s sion on Canals and Inland Navigation 1907 .

Lagan Canal; Length 25 ml s . 66 eh s .

Original cos t £1 03 ,304 .

Numbe r of loc ks 27 .

Smallest lock 65 1 O", W. 15 1 3", Dh . 5 1 611 , Largest bo at using 62 1 O"; W. 14 1 611 ; Dh . 5 1 611 l-!ax . lo ad possi ble 90 tons .

Usual load 65 - 90 tons .

Total rise above Belfa st Harbour 120½ feet .

Lough Neagh 74 feet .

Headway of bridges to cro\-m of arch 7 1 6 11 •

195 , No . 1 Inla nd Wa terw ays of Gr eat Br ita i n , 33 , P • ~89.

1agan rravi ~at i on : ?rom and To :

s, Be lfa st .

Lag an Ea vig at i on Company ' Str anm illi , Lou gn ::ea gh .

Str anm illi s , Be lfa st , t o Ell is Cut

Dis tan ce :

2!5i- mil e s .

i•lax imum Di me nsi ons fo r Cra ft Us in g Wate rwa y :

( Len gth ( Beam ( Dra ugh t

Auth ori ty :

(

( He adr oom

62 ft . o i ns .

14 ft . 6 ins .

5 ft . 6 ins . (ap pro x . ) 6 ft . 3 ins .

Locks :

(l dou ble , at the Tid al ent ran ce .,f 27 .

Str anm illi s , Be lfa st) .

Gen eral Rema r ks :

can alis at:' .."n The Lag an Ha vig ati on is in par t a art ifi cia l of t he Riv er Lag an and in par t an of the ':la terw ay . \'fork on the con str uct ion The n res ent nav iga tio n was c om ple ted i n 1820 . It con nec ts Com pan y ass um ed con tro l in 1843 . and thr - uc:h Be lfa st Ha rbo ur wit h Lou gh Hea gh wat e r ,.-:ith Lou gh Nea gh aff ord s commun ica tio n bywit h Co al ~o rtad o1, m on the Up per Ban n Riv er, nd Can al , wi th isl and at the hea d of the Co ali slaeh, nam ely sm all l and i ng pla ces on Lough i:ea nch , Kin neg o Har bou r, 1''.aghe ry , Ne ·. :po rt Tre and wit h the Ba lly ron an , Too me bri dge and nt rim Lo we r Ban n Nav i ga ti on . to Str anm ill i s Fro m the qua ys of Be lfa st Har bou r c omm enc es, a Loc k , whe re the Lag an i:av iga t i on ' s Br id e , the li gh ter mus t pas s und e r the Que en rt Bri dge , Cen tra l Ra ilu ay Bri dge and the lbe ck , l!!l ich and the nce thr oug h the i-, cCo nn ell Lo c onf lue nce lie s in tid al wa ter s ~us t abo ve the er Lag an . of the Bl a clrs t a ff Ri ve r wi t h t!1e Riv f ast Thi s l ock i s t h e n r ope rty of the Bela wEc?ir :·ih ic h h Cor po rat ion and is ass oci ate d withig n tid e so ow imp oun ds wa ter at a lev el bel er up to i mn rov e the amenit ies of the riv un sig htl y slo b up Str anm illi s Loc k by cov eri ng The ,-.cConnell lan d for me rly exp ose d at low tid e . ide and is w l ock is 150 fee t lon g and 38 fee t th~ ee bar ges . des ign ed to acc om moda te a tug a nd the gat e s The wa lls a re bu ilt of con cre te andle avi ng the ft er a r e ele ctr ica lly ope r ate d .

0rme au Mc Con nel l Loc k li gh t e r pas ses und er

c ,

7Dr '

1

195 • ~ y i gation :

(cont ' d) .

Bri dge _and the King ' s Bridge and so reache s the Str~n mi~hs Lock, which is Lock No . l of the Lagan Navig ation . _(The 1.fcCon nell Lock is opera ted by t he Belfa st Harbo ur Comm issione rs) .

Westw ard !rom St:an milli s the navig ation passes t ~e busy indus trial areas of Lambeg 3ilden and At the Union Locks just beyond the out Lisbu rn . skirts of Lisbu rn there is a flight of four loc.~s whe re the navi ation finall y leaves the River Lagan and follow s a cont our on hi gher ground to Agha lee, a distan ce of 11 miles and ~8 chains .

This is the Head Level and a number of st rea s act as feede rs on this level , namely , Lewpo rt Feede r, Halli days Feede r, .. egarry s Feede r, Trumrnery Feede r , Dougla s Feeder , ,.;oira ,·,ill Feede r, and Hell Hole Feede r .

Ne a r !oira the Head Level crosse s the valley of the River Lagan in a fou r-span mason r y aqued uct which is app ro ached on the south side by a hi h embankment . There are t wo overf all s on this l evel , the ma i n one being near the aquedu ct . From Aghal e e the Canal de scends to Ellis Cut on Lough Neagh ; ther e a r e 10 locks on that side of the Head Level .

It varie s in wi dt h from 40 to 100 feet . In winte r t he Head Level may carry up to 7 feet of 1ater and in summer some ti mes less than 5 feet 6 inches .

Special No te :

Tolls :

The aban donmen t of the Uppe r Rea ches of the Nav ig ati on (that is betwee n Lisbur n and Lough Neagh) is at presen t unde r consid eration .

Ch a r ges for pleasu re craft pa s sing through Canal : Canoe s (lifte d ou t of loc ks ) Moto r launch es, fishin g boat s, etc . from 1st Lock s to :Newfo r ge Edenb erry •.

Drum bridge Mossvale Lambe g Hilden Lisbu rn Newp ort and beyond 0

£ 0

0 10

0

0 15

l

O 0

0

l

5

0

l 10

0

l 15 0 2 0 0 2 5 0

These char es includ e ret urn trip within 10 days .

1950. iiagan Nav i c-a tion :

(c ont ' d) .

Distance Table :

Miles

Furlongs

2 12 13 13

6

Belfast to : Stranmil lis, Belfast (Lock No. 1) Lisburn Lock No . 12 .. .. ..

Lock No . 13 Union Locks (total of 4) (Canal commences , leaving River Lagan , after Union Locks) .

Aghalee (8 locks here in l i miles) Leanmount Lock (entranc e t o Lough Neagh)

~5

28

5 3 7

6 7

19 59, August 21. ~ 1,

:

Kinne go Cut . Ba sin and cut in a di s gr a ceful state owing to crude sewer ag e deposits . Lurgan should be ashamed .

2. Kilmore Hou se, Kilmore townland . yard dated 1861 .

Stone in wall of enclosed

Forme rly occupied by Turtle family and previous ly by Ellis family now o~me d by lr . John Downing who st ates t ha t t he olde r house was built ci r ca 1690 .

3. Lean Mount, Kilmo re.

4. Ellis ' s Cut in Kilmore townland whe r e it forms a boundar y between t ha t and Clanroll a i n Co . Arma gh .

5. Kilmore Lock.

Lock ke eper's house inhabite d .

Lock ga tes

removed .

6. Thatched two storey house, Aghaga llon townland .

7. Ballinde rry .

Single storey t ha tched cott age .

8. Group of locks at Aghalee villa ge and two lock houses .

9. Lock at De rrymo re.

This may not be in its pr oper sequence .

10. Interest ing cottage with unusual pill ar gr ouping

To Glenavy ~

-

To Lurgan

[ he re Jcottage

1959, August 21.

Date stone 1755 but Moravian Meeting House and Manse . since t h en . ted church ha s certainly been renova

/

Bridges crossing roads gene r ally follow above t ypes . ar ch allowed horse t hrough .

&!a ll

S:nall arch close d by gates on both sides of this pattern .

I;

I

11

1759 , Map of pr opos e d c ana~ be t ween Ar agh and Bla ckwate rt o1-m , Ori inal (4L:: - 1935) in Count y Mu seum , rrna gh . llao inscribe d "A :nap or tr a ce of several li nes by either of ;!:lich a c an a l may be ma de from t he to,-m of . rmagh to the Blackwater near Cha rlemont .

Surveye d and levelle d by t he Cor porat i on of Armagh and in October and November 1759 by th eir most humble servants, James Ashmu r and James Ashmur Juni or '' .

1761.

Journ al of the House of Commons, Geo. III, Vol. XII, p,246 .

Annagh Canal .

A petit ion of the Sover eign, Burge sses, and Freemen of

the town of Armagh, as also of the princ ipal gentle men, freeholde rs, linen drape rs, and trade rs of the county of Armagh· prayin g for aid, to make a canal from the river Black Water ' to the said town, was prese nted to the House and read.

Order ed, that the perso ns undernamed, or any five or more of them, be appoi nted a Committee to meet next Monday morning, nine of the clock , in the Speak er's chamber, to examine the matte r of the said petiti on, and repor t the same with their opinio n thereu pon to the House. And they have power to adjou rn from time to time, and place to place , and to send for perso ns and paper s, and to examine in the most solemn manner such perso ns as they shall think prope r upon the subje ct matte r of the said petiti on, and all Members who come are to have voice s, Sir Archi bald Acheson Sir Capel Molyneux Hon, Mr. Caulf eild Mr. Brownlow Mr. Galbr aith Lowry Mr, Richa rd Dawson Mr. Thomas Dawson Mr, Rober t Frenc h Mr. John Frenc h Mr. Recor der Mr. Stewa rt Mr. O'Ne ill Colon el Cuninghame Mr, O'Har a Mr. Morre s Mr. Sarje ant Pater son Two Mr. Thomas Knox' s Mr. John Knox Mr. Mossom Mr. Solic itor Gener al Mr. Rober t Lowry Mr. Pery

Mr. Fitz-G ibbon Lord Newtown Mr. Berna rd Ward Mr. Low Mr. Cramer Hon. Mr. Cole Doctor Clement Rt. Hon. Mr. Provo st Docto r Lucas Mr. survey or Gener al Mr. Mason Mr. Le Hunte Mr. Creig hton Mr. Nedham Mr. Hall Mr. John Eyre Mr. Keatin ge Colon el Pomeroy Mr. Edward Stratf ord Sir John Freke Mr. Rober t Fitz-G erald Sir Edward King

t-ii.

1761.

Journal of the House of Commons, Geo. III, pp. 537-~~. ~.2 (V01. XII) •

Sir Archibald Acheson reported from the Committee to

whom the petition of the Sovereign, Burgesses, and Freemen

of the town of Armagh, as also of the principal Gentlemen Freeholders, Linen Drapers, and Traders of the county of Armagh was referred; the matter as it appeared to them and the ' resolutions of the Committee thereupon· which r~port he read in his place, and after delivered in at the table, where the same was read, and the report and resolutions are as follow1

Mr. Speaker, The Committee, to whom the petition of the Sovereign Burgesses, and Freemen of the town of Armagh, as also of ihe principal Gentlemen, Freeholders, Linen Drapers, and Traders of the county of Armagh was referred, met pursuant to order, and called before them several witnesses whom they examined in the most solemn manner, who informed your Committee, that there is a great scarcity of fuel in and about the town of Armagh, which is a great prejudice to the manufacturers who reside there, and carry on the linen business in a very extensive manner; and that if a new canal was cut from the said town to the river Black-Water, they might thereby be supplied with plenty of firing at a reasonable rate.

And Mr. James Ashmur being so examined, informed your COIDlllittee, that the canal from Newry is navigable to Loughneagh, and that the river Black-Water is navigable eight or ten miles from the said lake upwards for boats of thirty tons burthen• that the canal intended to be made from the town of Armagh falls into the river Black-Water, about five miles from the said Lough and from thence to the Lough boats of one hundred tons b~then may iail; that he has taken the level of the intended canal, says, it will require ten locks and eight bridges· that the Callan river he believes would alone IUpply the carial in the ,attest summer with water sufficient for a navigation but there are several other streams or rivers which might supply it; that he has made an estimate of the intended canal which he delivered to your Committee, and to which your Commlttee refer; that he would contract accor4ing to the said estimate if he had leisure to undertake the work but believes he could find others who would; that the totai e ence according to his estimate, amounts to ten thousand ,e~n huridred and seventy-five pounds, six shillings and nine- ence ,as that it is practicable, and that his • •tiaate ~. Ju~t t~ fhe best of his skill and knowledge.

Mr. John Simps on inform ed your Committee, that he lives near Armagh, and carrie s on the bleach ing busine ss exten sively • that he finds fuel dear and scarce , occasi oned by the increa se' of the linen busin ess and scarc ity of bogs which are almos t exhau sted near Armagh; that if he had plenty of and conve nient fuel, he could bleach one third more than he does, and many of bis neigh bours who bleach more than he, are in the same condi tion 7 that he bleach es two thousa nd three hundre d and seven ty-six piece s a year, and that there are twenty person s in his neighb ourho od who bleach as much, and are a-like distre ssed for want of fuel; that he knows the line of the intend ed canal , which , if compl eated, would supply the town and neighb ourho od with plenty of coals, and also turf. At the last fair in Armagh, he says, there were linens bought to the value of six or seven thousa nd pound s, which were all made near said town; says, he would lay out himse lf one-th ird more in the linen trade than at prese nt he does, if firing was conve nient; that he uses about fiftee n tons of kelp in the year, beside s pot-as hes; that when he draws it by land from Newry, he pays nine-p ence a hundr ed, and that when by water throug h the Newry canal and Black -Wate r, costs him about six-pe nce; that if the intend ed canal was compl eated to Armagh, the expence would not be above three- pence per hundre d, and says 1 many more mills would be erecte d but for the great scarc ity of firing ; says, be doubts not but five hundre d manuf acture rs may in a short time be oblige d to go abroad to America, if some method is not found to supply them with fuel, which the said canal would do.

Mr. Georg e Bannerman agrees with John Simpson as to the scarci ty of fuel in and about Armagh, and the advan tages which Would arise from the intend ed canal to the linen trade on the river Calla n, which runs by Armagh, and says, there are fif:y bleach -green s on the said river, within six miles of Armagh,t e d that he has had a bleach yard ten years, and has been pr~~n ~oe~r ;ach the from bleach ing a much large r quant ity t~tn ~a;dh O d• a from the scarc ity of fuel; says, he can ar, p~rt~ ence kinda of linen he deals in under three half-p r~s that other s who have firing conve ~ient, t~~~~ r~;~a~ f Ar!a= about i eves kinds for one penny · says, he bel the best in Irelan d'for coarse linens ; say;,i !h:~: f!irs and compl eated :evken ty-two thousa nd poulidts i~a~~ ! i~{:n~ ~d canal was of ood hbourh d nei ar ets of Armagh; and tha th e iown :d if fhe canal is not Would suffic iently supply the linen busine ss must l'lllagh With fire at a moder ate pridced compl eated and fuel thereb y prov e, decrease c~nsi derab ly • .

it

Samue l Colvi n says, that the linen trade has increa sed consi derab ly of late years about Armagh; that he visite d the bleac h-yar ds, says, there are fifty green s and thirty -nine cloth mills withi n six miles of Armagh, and that last season they bleac hed one millio n three hundr ed and eighty -six thousa nd four hundr ed and seven ty-fiv e yards of linen ; that the fuel decrea ses every year, and if some method be not found to supply fuel, at least five hundr ed manuf acture rs must quit the trade, and proba bly go off to Ameri ca, which the intend ed canal , if execu ted, would preve nt.

Mr, Thomas String er says, firing is very scarce , and that if the canal was compl eated, and firing thereb y provid ed, he and the rest of the bleac h-yar d propr ietors could bleach onethird more, and one-t hird cheap er, than they do at prese nt, and that other wise the linen trade must decrea se; that the compl eating the said canal will i ntirel y preven t such decre ase, Mr, Thomas Ogle says, he knows and wrought the marbl e quarr ies near Armagh; that there are eight or nine kinds , some prefe rable to any foreig n marble that he has seen; that if the canal was made, he would carry on that work, and supply Dublin and other parts of the kingdom with marble at a much cheape r rate than it can now be purch ased for; and believ es there are great quan tities of lead in that ne i ghbourhood; and that the canal would make the mines of great use; says, there are also plent y of lime-s tone quarr ies; and Mr, Thomas Verner says that the lime- stone quarr ies would be of the greate st us~ to the sever al count ies which lie around Loughneagh, but the lime canno t be burnt for want of fue; and that the canal would make it of nine times the value that lime is now, from sixtee n to eighte en-pe nce a barre l, by the scarc ity of fire• that the quarr ies of marbl e and lime-s tone are within half a ~ile of the intend ed canal, from which all the count ry might be suppl ied with turf, a.s well as coals, and also corn might be broug ht throug h it, th e An estim ate of the expen ce of making a canal from !lack- Water , near Bally cullen br~dge a~oI~ m~:~r l~~~:: ~ :~e ' d twenty he Scotc h-Stre et bridg e at the own° great turf bog, being five miles ,dof~ e~r}~ ~~~n~ of the t nine feet allowi ng perche s of plant ation measu re, an level betwe en said place s to be dsev~n tl; top , twerity at laid canal to be forty feet broa a bottom , and eight feet deep.

£

s, d,

To three hun dred a nd nine thou sand eigh t hund red and sixt y six and a half cubi ck yards in the can al, at two- penc e per yard ,

2582

5

To fifty -one thou sand six hund red and fort y· four cub ical yard s of bac k-dr ains , six feet wide at top , four at bott om, and four feet deep , at thre e half -pen ce per yard

322 15 6

To grav ellin g one thou sand six hund red and sixt y perc hes of road by the side of the cana l, ten fee t broa d, at thre e shil ling s per perc h

249 0 0

To ten lock s, nine ty fee t long by eigh teen and a hal f feet wide in the clea r, at six hundred pou nds each To twelve thou sand one hun dred and fift y six cubi cal yard s of a cut from Mr. Sco t's mill to Sco tch- Stre et brid ge to brin g water from the Cal len rive r to supp ly the cana l, eigh t fee t wide at top, four at bottom by five fee t deep , at two- penc e per

yard,

To eigh t brid ges to be bui lt over the cana l and its wat er cou rse from the Call en rive r, for the sev eral road s that mus t cros s the same, whic h at an aver age of sixt y-fi ve pounds per brid ge, amo unt to s, ?o con ting enci es expe nce of engi nes, tool th e impl eme nts, &c: and for over seer s of works, by com puta tion Amount:

Dublin, 20 Nov emb er, 176 1,

3

6000

0 0

101

6

0

520

0

0

1000

0

0

£10775 6 9

1761.

And upon the whole, your c itt 88 following re solutions: omm came to the Re~olved, that it is the opinion of this Committee that the _petitioners have fully proved the alleg ti . f th'i petition. a ons o e r

Resolved! that it appears to this Committee, that there are in the neighbourhood of the town of Armagh thirty-nine cloth mills, and fifty bleach greens, whereon were bleached last season one million three hundred and eighty-six thousand four hundred and seventy-five yards of linen, Resolved, that it appears to this Committee, that the town of Armagh, is one of the best markets for coarse linen cloth in this kingdom, Resolved, that it appears to this Committee, that a navigable canal may be made from the river Black-Water to the town of Armagh.

Resolved, that it appears to this Committee, that the manufacturers and dealers in linen, in and about the said town of Armagh, are at present greatly distressed for want of fuel, Resolved, that it appears to this Committee, that by the means of said canal, the bleachers, manufacturersl and dealers in linen, may be supplied with a sufficient quant ty of fuel at a moderate rate and with the other materials used in that trade, by which th~re will be a saving in the price of bleaching, of one third, and the linen manufacture thereby considerably increased.

Resolved that it appears to this Committee, that the said canal w1i1 be of great advantage to the several counties of Armagh Derry Tyrone and Antrim, by supplying them with grain in times 0 } scarcity, and with lime, at an easy rate, for the improvement of their lands.

Resolved that it appears to this Committee, that by the means of said'canal, Dublin, and other parts of the kingdom may be supplied at a very moderate rate, with great qUantities of m~rble not inferior in quality to several of the foreign marbl~s imported into this kingdom.

Resolv ed, that it appear s to this Committee, that a sun not 1ess than ten thousa nd seven hundre d and sevent y-five pounds six shillin gs and nine-p ence, will be requis ite to compleat the said canal.

Resolv ed, that it is the opinion of this Commit tee, that the petitio ners deserv e the aid of Parliam ent.

To which resolu tions the questio n being several ly put, the House did agree.

:iouse of Comnons Journal , Vol. J.:II , p . 246 .

(6 Ilovecnber , 1761) .

Ar.:iagh Canal.

A petition of the Sovereign, Burgesses and Free □ en of t'le town of Ar,,1agh a s al so the ,rincipal gentlemen free holders, li nen 6ray,ers and traders of the county of Ar'.llagh praying for aid to m~ke a cJnal fro'.11 the river Dlackwater to said town Has presented to the house and read .

(Comm ittee au ointed all named to examine the .natter and r eport t o toe· house .

Sir Archibald Acheson Sir Canel ,·iolyneux Hon . 1-ir . Caulfeild i•ir . Brownlow , etc . etc .

(See also pp . 537- 54;, for detailecl account as to cost) •

1763. aouse of Commons Journal , Vol . XIII, p . 247 .

Ar:nagh Canal : The House was mov ed that the r esolutions of the House 1761 , on petition of the 00 the r eport of the ',!.7 Nove'Jlber Sovereign , Durzesses , Freemen , etc . of the city and county by read .

The sai,.e were read accordingly .

Ordered that the r eport and re solutions be referred to a whole committee of the house app ointe d to take into considerati on the sup ply , etc .

1837 , Ulster Cana l .

Middlet own ' Co . Ar'Ilag h .

Th e c anal b a sin ha s now ( Augus t 1959) been fille d in, and t he canal is gene r a l ly in a very de cayed condi tion .

The canal b r idge bea rs a c arved table t inscr ibed as under THIS

BR IDGE

ERECTED ULSTER

BY

CANAL

A. D. 1837

WA S TH

co,,JPANY

1837 • Lewis's Topo g r aphic al Diction a r y of Ireland .

Benburb :

The Ul ster Cana l now i n progre ss passes on the easte rn side of the r ive r and village and is he r e carried t hrough a hill of limesto ne wh ich ha s been exc ava te d to a depth of 80 feet and is c onduct ed l ongtitu dinally over the mill race by an aquedu ct of c on side r able lengt h .

191 . .Q.!.:ENIHG OF T]E ULSTiR Cili:AL. mlrn g reat Ulster Ca nal ha s been opened fro:.. C>:ar_e or t

to 10naghan , and ligh ters are now plyin; on that stat i on .

The advantages whi ch accrue in consequence to the ... gr:.c-.ilt..:,~and comme rci al co

unit y are very cons i derable indeed .

..e

have be en favored with the a nn exed cocJj]unication fro~ a respectable i nhabitant of 1-iiddlet o1m : " To the idi tor of the Newr y Telegraph.

"Dea r Sir, - La st •.1eek a vessel laden ·fit:~ c:,32. the use of the Distillery arrived i n this viii~~e by the Ulster Canal, wh ic h is nou , t hr ough t!le inde!.'at:'.. -ab~e exertions of \ illi am Dargan , ,,;sq . , navi,;ai..le :ro~ Lou.:!1 lleagh to I•10naghan;

and, from the well - :rnown activity "r.c

ability of that Gentlema n , tlle s peedy ter:uinatio~ of t is i mportant work is anti ci pated .

You canr.ot but have been

ple ased to hear tha t a junction between it and t.:e ~E~ry Canal is i n contemplat ion , whi ch :nus t ce rt ain ly t e ~roc...ictive of conside rable convenie nce and advantage t o those trJCi~; along the line .

The i nhabitants of t his hit,ierto ats c-.ir&

Village may now , with their war.nest feelings , ;;oin

t:.eir

brethren of t h e neighbouring tovms in t ha t heart - ani ... ating excl ama t i on, "Erin go Bragh ,. 11 '·/J. ' · th the addition of t!le Uls ter Cana l .

"A Subscriber .

"11iddle t own , 11th Dec . , 1837 • llewry Telegraph .

11

13'2.

1837 • Lewis's Topographical Dictionary of Ireland .

Blackwate rt own : This to,m from its situation on the Bla cl:11a t e r . c rries on a considerable trade in the exp ort of po t atoes , Qf ic great quan tities are annually . shi pped t o Eeifast ancl ·,t;.r!' _ .

Sloops of 50 tons burden can deli ver t he.i. r car oes at t'.:e _uo:: : and the Ulster Canal which is now in pr og r ess . a sees c:!.o e :o the town .

1843 , Ma rt in ' s , Ireland Before and After t he Union , pp , 132- 13 , 3 I n the No rth a very i mp ortant wo r k , t he Ul ster Cana l, is now in ~rog r e ss from Lou?h Nea gh to Lough Erne, t hus nearly connectJ.n::; the ea st e rn 1-n th t he west e rn sho re by a li ne extending from Balle ek , ne a r Ba llys hannon , t hrough Lough Erne , the Ulste r canal , Lough Neagh, and t hence to Newry and Belfast .

The Ulster Canal is now comp leted as far as konaghan and promis es t o be a mos t useful work , Besides t hes e t he r e a re three small navi gati ons communicating with Lough Neagh ; the Lagan fr om Belfa st, one f r om Newry by the Upper Bann and t he thir d called ihe Tyrone Navi ga tion, extending from t he Colli eries at Coal Island, nea r Dungannon , by t he Blackwater int o Lough '.leagh .

Ma r tin quoting f r om rece nt Parli amenta ry do cuments I bid , p . 136 .

Newry Navigation . The leng t h of t he Ke,II'y Canal is 16: miles, It for ms the communic at i on between Newry and Lou:-,h Neagh and between Ne,II'y and the sea . In 1337 t he t onnage amounted to £ 102 , 332 and the tolls to £J , 500 , . The Tyrone Navi gat ion was e xecuted at the i;iublic ex;ense w1t h a view to enc oura ging the wor ki ng of cert ain collenes at Coal Isl and , Ve r y exa ggera te d st at ements of the value and extent of the coal beds in the dis trict were ma de to Parliament · · · · · and led to a was t eful and useless exp enditure . The tonnfge in 1836 amounted to 7 , 291 and of the expo rt tonnag e coal on_y amounted to 718 tons.

The Lagan Navigati on was begun in 1753 for th ~ pu1 se of connecti ng Belfast with Lough Neagh . T~e tonnag e in 60 amounted t o 44,700 tons, t h e tolls to L, , 0 Fr d t h len gt h of t he Navi gati on • om Belfast to Coal Isl an .e ls 61 miles , fr om Newry 39½ miles ,

8~6

1

1846, Slater' s Directory of Ireland .

Moy,

Two quays on t~e river , were Erected by the Cha r lemon t family , with extensivE: sto r es, and the Bl a ckwater being navigab~? from Lough. Neagh for lighters of 60 to ns bu rthen , an immeoiate conn ection is formed with Belfast and Newry by the Lagan and Newry Canals and with Lough Erne by t he Ulster Canal.

Conveyance by Canal.

The Ulster Steam Carrying Company, Office and Stores, Charlemont Street , John Hogg , Manager .

Goods forwarded to and from Belfas t and liewry anci the following places Blackwatert O\m , Caledon, Ch arlemont , Clones , Enniskillen, Lisnaskea , Monaghan , -loy , Portadown , Templet ate and Wattle bridge .

94·

1B1+6 .

Slater ' s Directory of Ireland . p0 rtadown .

canal, Pat r i c k Lo gan Agent .

•ro Belfast, Clones , Caledo n , Enniskillen, l•wnaghan and 1-.oy .

Boat s le ave the Ulster Ca nal Steam Carrying i.juay ever y Tuesday , Thursday and Saturday forenoon .

To Newr y from Ulste r Canal Ste am Carrying Company ' s Quay ever y Monday , Wednesday and Fr i day .

Slate r ' s Directory of Ir eland .

Conve yan ce by ,,,ate r .

To Enniskillen a nd Eelturbet , the ulste r Ca!la _ Co ~ny ' s boats daily takin g goods t o Belfast, Port ado,m , ,.oy, C c. eaon , Monaghan, Clon es, Laguire ' s Bridg e and all to,ms ad j ace nt .

1s,2.

History of the Harbours of the United Kingdom, p.8 9 • Ulster Canal: Memorial of the Ulster Canal Company.

To the Right Honourable the Lords of Her Majesty's Treasury.

The memorial of the Ulster Canal Company Showeth,

That the great estimated value of this important work towards the formation of which Her Majesty's Gover11nebt have liberally advanced the sum of £120,000 on the security of the canal alone, much depends upon the agricultural and mineral produce of the interior of the north of Ireland having ready access to the port of Belfast by means of the Lagan Canal.

That it is understood that the principal cause of the Lagan Canal not having been so productive as it might have been is its imperfect and uncertain entrance into the harbour of Belfast.

That except at certain times of the tide, the communication between Belfast and the interior of the country by means of the Lagan Canal, is impracticable; and that great loss and inconvenience have been sustained by the delay and uncertainty of the transmission of goods.

That unless this impediment be removed no material improvement can take place in the Lagan Canal, andt asf: consequence the interests of the Ulster Canal musf s~ er by this, it~ most important outlet, being so imper ec • t nd that an application ertain sums of That your memorialists unders a which advancefcBelfast has been made to your Lordships to O ~oney for the improvement of the harbour ent of this project so far from including th e improvem canal will if defect ln the Belfast entrance ifaf~~i~~~es in the way of carried into effect, throw grea its being accomplished hereafter. id r it to be their duty, That your memorialists cons eterest and to the security both with reference to their 0 ~ i~ whose loan of £120,000 of the Government, the repaymen °s of the Ulster Canal, to IIIUst depend upon t he productivenes Lordships. lay these circumstances before your

1852, uist er Can al.

And the y acc ord ing ly resp ectf ully sub nit that in advance of money whi ch it may seem righ t to your Lor any to make for the imp rove men t of the Bel fast Harbour dshi ps such ian onlY may be san ctio ned as sha ll prov ide - by mean hoa ting doc ks or oth er ways - for this most imp orta s of nece ssar y imp rove men t of the entr anc e of the Lagan nt and Can al into the har bou r, And you r mem oria list s wil l eve r pray , &c.

Company's Off ices , 6, Aus tinf riar s, London, 10t h May, 183 8,

1854, Doyle' s Tour of Ulster , p . 131. port adown situate upon t he Bann is in a ve r y suner:or trading positi on , h avi ng a sufficient depth of 11ater· to float vessels of 50 or 60 t ons burthe n . By means of the Ul ste r canal it carries on a communication be t ween belfast and Enniskillen and with Newr y by the Newry llavi3ation .

2.oo1

1855, t,arJJion : ,.,3r.i.til1e Ports of I r eland , p . 125 . rne Ulst er Canal : Commen c es_ a t Ch ar ~e'.1:ont on th e Blackwater, by which it c(}llrrIUni cates with ~ougn Ne~gh, and taki ng a soith - west direction by i·ionagnan and 1.,l ones, enters Lough irne at the east ern ext remity, t~us un~ting the two loughs . It was con st ructed by the a id of large SUtllS of publ ic money sn6. wa s opene d for the passage of bo a ts in 1842 . ', e stations have bee n established on Lough i;ea gh for the accommodation of long boats between the Ul s ter, Lagan and Newr y ,la vi ryations .

A ste amboa t has been also pl a ce d on Lough e;r ne , so that a regul ar communi c 3tion has been effected t hrourhout the li ne , which is 48 miles . The company was incorporated under 6 Geo .

IV, c , 193 . '.Che amount of capital is £300 , 000 , half of which ha s been paid up . £120 , 000 has been obtained on :nor t ;;a:e o~ the under t aki ng , and to acc r uing tolls fro:a the r,;xc,1eq_ue r Lo~n 0ills Com:nis si one r s , and £10 , 000 fr om the Board of '.:or"<s . ~11 15~3 the goods c a r ried was 13 , 454 tons , beine an incre a se 011 t!le year or evious o f '< 000 t ons and the amount of tolls £1,138 . 10 . 11 and t he disbur serne'~ts £1 ,252 . lc . ll : there was also £1 , 000 :nore pai d t o an engineer and for law eiqi enses .

'20/

iater ' 5 Directory . io!IO D. Robins on , Agen t for t h e Ulster Canal Carr ying Co .

~nveyance f r om Portadown by water .

1o Belturbet

a Fly Boat every Saturday .

'.o Clones a Fly Boat every Tuesday .

:o Enniskillen a Fly Boat every Thursday .

2oz.

1859- 60 - 61. rransac~ ions of ~he Institution of Civil En~ineers of Irelanr 25th ano ,:6 Session , 1 859 - 60- 61, Vol. VI , pp . 63- 66 , (Dubli'1 l~6J) .

The Ulst e r Canal : This c anal connects Lough Neagh and Lough irne . It commences in t he county of Armagh , near Charlemont, on the river Blac kHa t er, which is navigable for a distance of 11 miles up to that point , and ente r s the south - eastern extrewitv of upper lough Erne , ::it Edergul, in the count y of Ferc.;3nagh , windi ng , in its c ourse , along the fertile valleys of the Blackwat er and Finn rivers , and passing tlJe towns of Benburb, Caledon, i,; i ddleton, fonaghan , and Clones . r·!le le ·gth ')f the cana l is 48 mi l es . The re a re 26 single locks, eac-i 56 !'eet lo " in the chamber , l" feet wide , and about 81 feet rise . , ~r. tccn of these l ocks are on the eastern or Lough J;eagr side of Le summit, and t he rema inder on t he western side ,· t'.'le difference between the levels of the loughs being about 10; feet . .~e intended de pth of wate r on the lock sills was 5·. feet .

0

Althou"h t he advantaa es of this canal must have been obvious at ~n ea rl y date , as an i mportant lin'., ,i'l t,1e .in:. n~. _ naviaation of t he country it does not appear t:1at &!l) .- racc1c 1 o ' , , to,, . . r, s measures were adopted to carry ou •c sue h a pro J' ect t un-1-. · ·-:-. the clo se of t he fir st qua rt er of the presei:t cen ur~, ;'-ien r .

John Kil l aly made t he ne cessary surveys, anc nre,iarec . · _ans an estimates, upon which an appl icat i on was ma~e. to,P&rlio eiS' H the yea r 1825 , and an Act obtained , namely 'rne oth Geo . ·, cap, 193", incorporating the Company • T • . • t of the estioate , ~ he difficulty of r a is ing the amoun . to ~reat delav ~n ~ 16O, OOO , e ou a l t o £3 , 478 per mile, gav<:: rise in 1Qy· CO!ll!lle ncing t he Ho r k s and t h e deat h of 1•1r. _Killa -1 Y, . ;- 7,; 0 0• ~ed to t he seeking of other professional ae1:1ice ' U~~=r t'i; ~r .. -· :~lford and Sir William Cubi tt we r e calle~ i~ . a s~ale ~i rection , the wo r ks - previously de si~ne~o~;exion ,-:ith _ '.J·:-t. °:respondine with t he c anals already/~; ed ~nd t'le icicit-i ana 11 1e,gh and the river Shannon - we re mo ~ -tr~de boats co:n::wnl:· -engt h of the loc ks reduce d , so that t. e d ;:!:Jus t:1 2.t whic:1 ,;as Used i n th ose navigat ions c annot pass ; an - \ 0 be verv :njurious to dim in ish t h e outl ay, has !Jr ove~ndeed ou~ht to !Cave tlntended O th . y of the un d er t a,1cin"'=' ' as S;f i economy ' ~ l · · -be · e pro spe rit cou a n~ve j en. anticipated for no co n side r ation • ncinles such Ustified , on ordina r ily intelligible pr~ in ex~ludi"g boats modificati ons of a c anal so circum st ancea , enter1n1; Loush Neac;h from othe r qua rters .

0

rae Ulster Canal : The sw:iJJi t level is suppl i ed near the to,m Of . --· 3 • on __ "n n h· h · lour!, · · w.• ic .. is a natura l lake, r ender~d -' oir, o: r ese ··v by the liuii;;; capable, b · embai:i=ents 1 of pondine up about 14: feet de t of water, to be del ive red_ J.nto the canal by a rezu1ati!r slii.ice an feeder - c>an~el; ~ut lllc~ough this r;:ser~oir recei·1es t..e s r water fro :!l che r~ver BL,ckwater at Dall1node, wheri t-ie .Lls the neighbourhoo0. do not requ ire it , the su, ·lv to the co o far fro11 b~ing si.1fc'icie12t i, an~ the consequence" is, t,11t r' 'ri .it at least t nree months or cne ctry season of eac:i ye~r , t s r level is i:npassible for trade boats . In i.r . .Cillal:; ' s "c .i - , the section of the ca:'.lal was c alculated ta contairi t:1ree ·eet in depth of 1.1ater beyond the standard navigable height , belnintended as a reservoir to dr aw upon which circurnt~nces -, :il requir e .

The Company , notwithstanding the sacrificss ..:iade of efficiency to economy, had t o contend with the 1s 1 _ fina ci 1 difficulties of such p rojects in this c ountry , a 1d h_v~ 3 : n finally unabl e to r a ise tne necessary funr" s , ty sui.lscri t · > , to comp l ete t ,1e wor.:s, they were obli::;ed to h ve rccci_rse t~ aJ1endments of their a cts . to borrow money ;or tiLt _ ur vse r the Loan Comnissionsrs in whose hands t.. e n°vi ti,... ~s ~sted to r epay t he de1t, the CoL_any h~vin~ ;•ile• t_ eet ,neir engage c1 ent s .

0

5

1

. By the et of Incorporatio n , the ti ,e of co ;1l~ti __ ; -.1 .r • , limited t o July. 15;,q , By the 9tl1 Geo . IV . , c~96,_J.t _-•· · extended to t he ' ;,;oth. June, 1833; and ~v t:ie lsc a~; "nc th ere wa s " furthe r extension to the .<4t June , 1 '- ~ 7 · nt rol of t:1e Loar th , . ,nnua. rert . e co . Si nce t:'.le c anal ca□ e under · ~o le,se a_t an;:.

Conunissioner s it ha s been l et on "-' ~v1,. ulO r1 l · S-'' t B t certai ss'S:>t'S , -_a pr esent held by the Dunda-., sea .. ~~ing to the un i form defi ci en~y of wate~ i --:v co:":1;1€titio~, the t. e peculiar scale of the wor>i:s , a nd r~ --:·;- 11O \'ever t: e · ·te nd8 ': i J. ' -_ ·"ci e;1t st te i utJ.nuooneL,t ve .r y small raffic is a t nresen .1 SUncl t . 7 th core anc" re. -1- s r .. _., - _, Y we re imn r oved - tne wor&s p - · •e ·· · conducuffeo• WJ. t ' d ; ent ret·1rn · · t'reua1·r 1 an the carry in:>; r ace ~c 163 ve 8 fz:.r r:J:is / erE_? is no reason t o doLibt t nat 8 5 t~ and r enairs . eahzed t o mee t a ll current ch ar ges an 00 th e expenditure requi re d for improve cie n · ·· ir to our o~n ti-E - 118 .

0 c s~P:' __ wnicn canals ::~e Havin,3 br ou::ht the narrative , 1 1n~ an outli ne o t he history . 0 1 "~ n«inee r in!' J.n c:lJ.: .• c0 unfir st e: r ea t s chools of pr ~ctJ.~\r ust t!1at it ;nay,n~~ -~~ •e- t ha t one of ouf owgee~"t,.,·,-~ .

C'.,0,., ~Y, as well as in Englan rr.~-' 'iere, i rrel e v ant to state , 11 A.ssistant ,:,ngi.

--~ 1ce:nts, J.•Jr . J.•iulli·1s, who was a .t:_

••

:

·< ..:

tn!

i

1059- 60- 61 .

rhe Ulst er Cana l (con t ' d) . ,vans i n the e~e': ut i on of the Roya l Ca:-ial , havin :; :o .L'ld the d field pr eocc up~e a , _almo st to the excl usio n of Irish .Jen , loo;rn _) in the out f?~ a c ~rn~i:1a~io~1 to enab le _h i m_ to eJJba r k exte" Jsive and~ in tne ear1 y part ::i:' the ~r-s ~r: 6 xecu u on o, 1)Ub lic _v1?ro:~ , _ho, centur y co.,u ~nce d 1ntn _hi s_p a r~ ner s, _lles srs . rlenr y anc. ' ..oth.i .:r a caree r, mi e n , a s soci ctea inch en;;i neer inc . •1ill lose o bv como ariso n Hith the mos t succ essf ul perio d of the rofes s in this o r pos sibl y i n any othe r coun try .

Mr . M' ~aho n , on the termi natio n of the pa rt nersh ip , becq e in &.~gineer to t h e Dr a i nage Depa rtme n t of the Boa r d of ·,or-: s of 'ice that the year 1843 , and c ontin ue d to fulf il the ciuti es of auring t he mos t a c tive per i od of thei r exter Jsive o:1er atier ns~r. n3 The dr aina ges of Loug h lifeagh , Lough Corr ib , anci the U river we re t he orin cioa l wo r ,, s of 1-;hich he "ave plan s a".lc' · spe cif icati ons . ·

1888 .

Bassett • s County Ar ma gh , p . 23 ,

Ul st e.,, Cana l.

About fif t y ye a r s a go conn ection wa s e ffecte d bet ween Lough Erne and Lough 1:e a gh , by mea ns of t he Ulst e r Cana l . This pa sses for a con siderccle dis t s~ ce along the weste r n a nd no r t h - ueste r n bor ders of Ar _agh .

It is be ing l a r ge l y t aken advanta ge of at pre se~t by some o f t he l e adi n g me r chants of t he Cit y of . r .ac:h .

The shipping pla c e is a t Bla ckwate r t own , di st a t :·cJ.r I t is expected t ha t t he Ul ster Cc:r.al s ste~ miles . will be so on v e r y mu ch i mp rov e d by the Ulst er C~na.,_ Company who re c e i ve possessi on of it t h::.s ;•ea r - 1888 under special Act of Par l i ament .

2.0&.

1902.

Ireland : I ndus t rial and Agricultur al , pp .lll- ll 2 , The Ulster Ca nal : The Ul s ter Canal , ext ending f r om Bla ckwater t own to Lough (Upper) Ern e, wa s mad e by a comp any, fo r med i n 1826, under 6 Geo . IV . , c , 1 93 , The work s took about f ift een yea r s t o complet e , and ab so r be d over £200).000 i n capi t al , t owa r ds wh ich the Governme nt a dv an ced on l oa n x.130, 000 . \<f.ri en the canal wa 5 opened in 1841, t h e tr a f fi c prov ed unr emune r ative and the water supply defective . I n 18 51 t he Public Wor ks Loan Com~ i ssi oners took pos s essi on of ~he P: ope rt y as p rinci pal mor t gagees , and proceeded to le as e i t, fir st t o a private individual (l,; r . u:irr,an), and subs e quently t o t he Dunda l k St eam Naviga ti on Com oany . While under t h e. manag ement of th is C0!3pany , t he c anal works fell into very bad r epair, and inde ed be came almo st der elict . On th e expi r ation of thi s comp any ' s le as e in 1865 1 it was dete r .n i ned (but only after much h esitati on ) , to vest the canal and under taking in t h e Bo a r d o f Wo r k s, Ir eland , who wer e of op i nion , i n opposition to t ha t of Sir Joh n Ma cne i ll i n 1861 , t hat it was the deficiency of wa ter, and not t h e r ai lway competitio n, ,:hi ch had pr eve nted its be i ng r emune r ativ e . The t r ansfer wa s effected by 28 3: 29 Vic . , c. 109 , After an addit i ona l ouclay of near ly £20,000 on t h e suppl y of wat er , the c anal was . '. eopened in 18 73 ; bu t t he traff ic on it ha s be:n ver y. tri runP . !he annual expense of its mai nt enanc e was seL do~n in 1870 , at Ll , 200 , which used to be p rovi ded for i n the Civil Se rvi cf 66 Estimates (Class I); and t he r ecei pt then only aver aged L a year . int o the sys t em of · t · . munit• . .

The Commissioners appointe d o inqui r e navi g~tion connecting Cole: a ine, Be lf( a s \ 7 a £d _L~ssi t~t~i~ tha/ in this n avi gation, in their Repor t c. 3 3 1 · d out by the " d 1873 865 Notwi thstandin" t h e l arge sum s al chi;fly ~~w . ~ . n tw~e be canal e th on s Commissioners o f Work 00 22 ' it at! and f r om want amounting , as has been st ated, t o _£ , 0 to le a kage, in a very u1;1sat1 sfa ct or?1 \ he ye a r. Th e t r af f ic ~ Water navigable only for ei ght monih ~ ~ull y suool i ed wi t h is l ness of t he loc k s . ,,,8 also restricted even when t h e tcana h e sma\ pa s s along t he Vl 5t er Tiater , by its shallowness and by /e boats in use on t he La gan c anal c an~~ r i n t he channel of t~al when fully laden, t h e de p t h 0 ! w~ on the cills of t he On the Lagan can al e latter being only four fe et , whil s 1v~~ks it is only t h r ee feet nine i n~~e;~ dr aw f ive feet s~x in sel s c an generally be loaded so 1 re si xt een feet wine .

Evidence ha s been Th ches . The loc k s on the La gan can a_ \ es ose on the Ulster twelve fe et two incdit ~re of £10 , 000 on t ~e ~ ~1tt e d to u s t hat by a further etl!~ feet bo t h in the cnannel t he an~ter c anal it may be de epene\ t o supplied , and all in the lock s, a dditional wa er

1ng

1902.

The Ulste r Cana l :

(Con t ' d) .

n .• leakag es s~au nche d. Many witne ss es expre ssed their .. that if this we r e don e a lar ge traff ic would s urin<? ~o fi a1:n~~ .e canal would becom e a r emune rativ e conce r n · Bu'"" 1-t "musPt, bano e d . th a t t h e Grea t North e r n Railw ay comu etes ' .h obser vea, t ey a a , ~th t he c ana l ~or the g reate r pa rt of its lengt h, and to expe~t. such an inc~e a se of traff ic on the latte r as would be suff1c ~e 1;1t to pay its p re~en t avera ge exp~n ses of £1 ,1 53 a :toear, i n addit ion to £350 , t ne inter est of the :x.10 000 neces sary put it int o or de r, o r £1 ,503 in all , is in o~r ouini on to" take a · very san guine view of its p r ospe cts .

This n a vi ga tio n wa s trans ferre d durin g t he year 1890 , to the Lagan Na vi gati on Comp any, and ha s ce ased to be maint ained out of the I mper i al taxe s. I n a ccord ance with the Ac t of Pa rli amen t, an ag reeme nt wa s subs eque ntly enter ed into bet wee n t ne Eoard of Works and the Lagan Navi ga tion Compa ny for trans fer of the cana~ .

This agree ment bound t h e Compa ny to expen d £10 , 250 , the amount requi re d a cc o r ding to the estim ate of t he Board of './o r:u ' Engine er , to ensu re a suffi cien t wate r suppl y and pu t the c ana-'in or de r for a five feet draft for li gh ters, the dr aft fo r werly given by t he Boa r d of Wor lrn bei ng only four fe et . l'rJe co any procee de d t o c a rry out the wor k s , which c os t £12 , 70 inste ad of the £10 250 estim ated . Towar ds this sun the Treas ur y ,aade a free gr 1nt of £3 500 and the Boa r d of Wo r ks l ent £4 , 40v r e: ayab~ e in forty half - ye~ r ly ' insta lmen ts 1-1ith inter es~ at \Pe : ce nt . e r annum on c ondi ti on that the Chai rman of the Lagan ,-avi~ at ion Comp a_liy lent £4 4 00 on same ter ms . The ori ginal defec t ?f ·.-ater supply t o the si'.i.mmi t leve l still rema i ns, no at te:n:-it ?;vin g _ or "~been made to incre ase the size of t he stora ge reser v ~irh 1 t'. ~1 ~an ~ · remove an obst ructi on which exist s in this po rt wn and ~e water way above the town of lfonag han t herefstore, is ~ti_ evf!l eJ~; er, ~mpa ssibl e by bar ges dur ing a porti on of al~o s be en in d'.y s eason s t he stopp age of ~he traff ~\ fm ~~~~;m~nt trsff ic cons~ derab le pe r iods . Unt il t ? 25 es~e gti\l e to re auit the es . oass ich wh ,e a 17 h ca: rie d out the Ulste r Cana l WJ.11 no t o wns ~g!~~ navi ga ti on syste::i ~ 1 7h awa i ts it a t the t~ri v~ng _ 1 ~ a most impo rt ant l J. nk in. tne no r ._. .. on the Elac: :wate r ~~nti nuing the li ne of navig ati on fro~ tj~in s the river ?inn . ver to Lough Erne , n e a r which l ake J.

°

1 0

\3

1906.

Colillllissi one r s Repo rt s , Vol. I, Appen di x 2 .

Evidence of •i r . Geo . A. St eve nso n, Commi ssi one r of Publ i c orks, 21 la r ch , 1 9 0 6 .

W (6) Ulste r Cana l f r om . Cha r !emon t, Co . Armagh , comrnu nic ati n~

1/ith Lough Ne agh by Ri ver J:il ac kwat er to Uppe r Lough Er ne at Wattl e bri d g e, Co . Fe r managh , 46 miles l ong , const ructe d by priv at e compa ny unde r Act of 18,:5", c omp l ete d 1842 .

Excheq uer Loan Comm i ss i oner s len t £120 , 000 and Boa r d of Works £10 , 000 . Forme r took po s sess i on in 1851 and le as ed canal to Hr . Darga n , subs e quen tly to the Dunda lk Steam Navigat ion Comp any, whos e le ase exp i red i n 1865 . Th e c anal was then veste d in t he Commiss i oner s of Publ ic Work and transf erred to t he Lag a n Nav i gatio n Comp any in 1888 .

Original cost.

Expend iture by lo ans £ 130 , 000 .

Borne from other £80 , 000 sourc es £210 , 000

Number of loc k s 26 ,

1.oq_ 1907 • als and Inl and 5econd ~ep ort of t h e Roy al Cornm i ssio n on Can Navigatio n , Ulste r Can a l .

Lagan Nav i gat ion Company .

Lengt h 45 mls . 51 eh s . ori• inal cos t £29 4, 272. .

Numbe r of loc ks 26 .

1 51 • anallest loc k, L . 67 • 2";1 W. 11 Bk"1 ; Dh. 11 51 O" .

Largest bo at usi ng L . 62 O" ; W. 11 6 , Dh .

Max. load pos sib le 65 t ons .

Usual load 55 - 65 ton s .

Total rise 154 fee t .

Headway of bri dge s to cro ,m of a rch 9 ' 0" .

:z.r o.

1910.

Hughe s' pari sh of Tyna n , p . 91.

The Ulst er Cana l conn ecti ng Lough Neagh with Lough trne is in poss es sion of the La gan Na viga tion Company . It came in !832 and t h e Ulst e r Cana l Comp a ny rece ived po ssess io n of it unde r Spec i al Act of Parl i ame nt in 1888 .

Comi ng from J.lon aghan it ente rs the paris h a t Ar dgon. ~ell ) , brid•e, runs thr ough Foyd uff , Shan tully , Tull ybri ck (Hami lton , Bond;i lle , Cor fe ghan , Lemnago re, skir ts Gortm agleg , Dr um golly The Foryar r and Anna gh and le aves the paris h at Turry bridge . , Road •Big Bridg e " out side i•iidd letow n con necti ng the Glas s l ough . with the main ro ad , was e r ecte d by the Cana l Comp any in k37

21/ .

1950, rn1and waterways of Gre a t Bri tain , No . 138 , p . 399 . ~ Bann

Navigation :

Authority :

Tr 1:1-st~ es of the Uppe r Bann 1'avigati on Ricidets Buildings , 4 9 Donegall Pla ce , Belfast '.

From and To :

Ap p roximate!? half of Lough Neagh and u>1 t o the · Bl ackwater Ri ver to Blackwatertown .

Distance :

H¼ miles .

Maximum Dimensions for Craft Us ing aterway .

W

(Leng th ..

Not limited .

Uo t limited .

•. ( Beam 5 ft . 6 ins .

(Dr augh t . Up to Hoy J ft .

Up t o Blackwaterto,-m ( 8 ft .

(Head room

Locks :

Ni l.

Bridges :

Road b r idges and a railway bridge .

Towing path :

None .

Toll s :

None for pleasure craft .

Gene r al Remarks:

There is ver y lit tle tr affic south of the entrance t o the Coal island Canal .

The ma in landing pl a ce s unde r t he con~ r ol o{ the Tr ustees a re Kinnego Ha rbour and Hewpo r Trenc h on Lough Neagh .

Special No te :

The abandonment of th is canal is under consi de rat ion . ~iil es . ?urlongs .

~~ st ance Table : trance to Lough Nea"h to : Maghe r y Ferry ( end ~f a rtificial cut f rom Lough Neagh) • ~unction with Coali sland Canal •• n:rner ' s Bridg e • • · • t) ·· •• •. rrygalle y Ferry Junct1 c i derel (now 1 C ana Ulster h t wi on Bl •• ackwatertown

~

6 9

11

~

4 6 2

August

1959 .

TM Ulster Canal.

This c anal le a v e s t he Blackw ater that point t he re is beside s the loc k Charle rnont . stores . The. lock keepe r ' s house is in ~o a guay and inhabite d bus t he lock gat es a re in ab sogl u dt 0r der and e dec ay .

(~~aL

t

on h t h e d bank · Ly· i ng flat ~ • whe r e t ·he can a 1 en t ers t he nver 1s a scone s ape li k e a grave stone and inscrib ed _ CHA.qLK,;ONT

0

CALEDON

11

•lONAGHAN

28

CLONES

39

WAT .cLEBRIDGE

46

Lock No . 2 a t Bl a ckwate r town is ver y mu ch de cayed but t.e l ock kee pe r ' s h ouse is inhabit ed and i n good or der . .h

Lock No . 3 a t Maydown does not seem to have had a t~ep er ' s ~ous e and Lock No . 4 in Carrick aness is also wi~hout '.1filem. ty .

Loc k No . 5 Ca rr ickanes s (near. t he ~en~uro . \arries ) h as a loc k keepe r ' s h ouse . I t is 1nh a?1tea and 1 n god order bu t lock gates a r e in very bad cond1t1 on .

k

/t

'r

Locks No s . 6 and 7 i n same t ownlanci are very much_ove r and git e s a re i n absol ut e de cay . At No . 6 on the t>enburb lnsc?bs 1de t he r e is a c a rve d stone similar to that at Ch arlemont 1 ed as under -

;u~;11

CHARLEMONT

6

CALEDON

8

CLONE S

33

WAT:i'LEBRIDGE 40 Lo k • t ha s be en fil led in to Provid c No . 8 . The c ana l a t t his P01 ~h lo ck survive s (gates decaye~) a fl at entr an ce to the Mill , . e us e as mi ll office . and t he lo ck ke ep er ' s hou se 1 s 1 n L . is in a ve r y ciecayed nd con11t~ck Ho . 9 a t Tullyb r i ck nea r Bo VJ.ll~ good or der and 1nn,1,,~on but t he l _ock keep er ' s house 1s J.

1979 , Augu st 22

.

Ulster Ca na l .

Trip to Loug h Erne •

Photo graph s at entr an ce of Can al i nt o t he Jsr ne at G&lloon Islan d. Lock comp lete l y dest roye d .

Killgarre t town l and . Two -st orey t ha tch ed house on old road from Dubl in to Newt ow nbu tler . Mr. Wi lliam He t he r ingto n, Posta l addr ess : Kill ga r r et, Newt o,mbut ler .

Edenaf oran , Co. Monag h an. Bo y wit h Donkey s.

Eden afora n, Ston ebri dg e, Co . Monag han .

John .cDonarh ,

Photo graph ed lock at Tyho ll an d .

Locks on each side of road brid ge at Cr owley, Co . .. ona~han . keepe r's hous e inha bite d .

Lock House in Knoc kaco ney town land i nha bi ted .

Loe~

Extracts fro mNewry Tel egr all.b.

!!W'Y canal.

Feb. 10 , 1 813 .

Can a l P ass age Boa t .

The r es pec tabl e

Pas sag e Quakers of Moy a l l en h av e es tab lish e d a Cana l of Ne wry .

Boat whi ch wil l b e h i ghly use f ul to t he tra de sac t t hei r It wil l ena bl e p a s se ng ers t o go t o Newry, t ran e , comfor t busi nes s and r e tur n h ome the s am e day with eas and con ven ien ce.

Feb. 10, 181 3.

Can al Pa ssag e Boa t.

The sub scri bers

i n Poin t z to the New ry Can al P as s age Boa t ar e to mee t As sever al Pass on the 15th i n st. a t el eve n o ' clo ck . to be matt ers of i mp ort anc e t o th e Est abl i shmen t are sett led , a ful l a t t end anc e is exp ect ed . on s Tho se who hav e not ye t pai d t hei r sub scr i pt i ei th er t o are req ue st ed to do so pre vi ous t o t hat day sur er, Thomas Gre er, New ry, or Will iam Dawson, Tr ea Moyal len , 1st of sec ond mon th.

Feb. 27, 181 3. Newry Can al Pas sag e Boa t.

~.

t he Com.o anY of pr opr i et ors th · WJ.

A per son to con tr a ct bet ween t o dr aw the Can al Pas sag e Bo at wit h two hor ses pas s and Kno ckb ridg e and Poy nt zpa s s a l so bet ween Poyntz t o W. Dawson, Moy alle n , N App lic a tio n to be ma de ewry ·

~-

2.1 s:CANALS ( conU or George Benn ett, Poyn tzpa ss.

Secu rity will be requi red

for the due perfo rman ce of the contr act.

May 8, 1813 .

Yest e rday the Newry Canal Passa ge Boat

1 arrive d he r e abou t one 0 clock havin g on board the

Marquis and Marc hione ss of Downs hire, John Moore of Drumbanagher, Arth ur I nnes of Drum entine and John Reill y of Scarv a, Esqu ires with their Ladie s.

ULSTER CANAL See Newry Comme r cial Teleg raph of Tue sday , Ma rch, 19

1819 .

Edi t oria l.

We lay t his day befo re our reade rs a copy of a

corre spond ence which latel y took pl ace between Hen ry R. Paine Esq . , assis tant secre tary to the I nland The subje ct Navig ation Offic e and John Killa ly Esq . matter of these lette rs is highl y i mpor tant as it relate s to the inten ded line of Ulste r Navig ation .

Mr Killal y has accom panie d hiS commu nicati on to the · Board with a map of the line . h ' h \·'8 have seen we "'-~,om a copy of this map w ic ' will commence at Wattl el earn that this inten ded canal . h . t will communic ate bi i ic wh by river r dge on the Finn ·twi ll pa ss near 111th Lough Erne .

From Watt le bridg e i

CANALS C cont ..l Ballymoe - then ce n ea r Cumber and Ball ynu re, and on to It'll , the summit lev el, nea rly betw een Drum conn er and Mill t o nea r whi ch latt e r plac e it will appr oxima te Monaghan and f r om then ce it wil l wind in a mean derin g cour se t o the vici nity of Mid dl e town - then ce to nea r Tynan and on t o the neig hbo urho od of Batt lefo rd Bridge , where 'Jith With in a sudden turn it will dive rge to Benb urb. about a mile of tha t vil lage it will communic ate .nt h Thence the Blac kwa ter by a sho rt cut of thre e l ocks . it will pro ceed to Darby 's Bridg e, wher e it will cro ss the Call an.

About a mile f rom the cut, by which it

\/ill join t he Bla ckw ater , a cana l is to be made t owards Armagh , whic h wil l t e r min ate abou t Gran gemore with in a mile and thre e qua rter s of the city .

From Dar by' s Brid ge it will run t o Ball ymagerny , thence to Loug hga ll, Ball ywi llY, Flus h bridge and Vine cash 4 s and fall nea r Port adow n into the Uppe r Bann 6½ mile ks laid down f rom Wat tlefo rd Brid ge t he re bein g 22 l oc in the who le cour se.

th e UlS t er th at ed stat We are sorr y to find it any near er t o the city of N avigatio n cann ot be brou ght We viz . Gr angemor e.

Arlllagh than is shew n on the map, ood gr ound s, and doubt the accu racy of the state men t on g · thou t furt her and hope 1 t wil l not be acqu iesc ed in Wl.

inquiry.

CANALS Ccont ,l About 31 years ago Mr. Owen who supe rinten ded the canal from Lisbu rn to Lough Neagh made a survey and estimate of a canal to Armagh whi ch was then in contem plaThe line which he select ed and whi ch he pronounced

tion.

to be perfe ctly p ractic able , crosse d the Ca llan river a little below Ge a ry• s Bridg e and runnin g t hrough Drum sill and Killyl in re- crosse d the Blackw atertown road on the Armagh side of Bagen al' s Bridge , and passin g over the r oa d leading from Black water town to Ch ar l emont, at the pla ce called the Rampa rt, joined the Blackwate r immedi ately below that road. £13,500 .

The expens e was then estima ted at

In the year 1750 a simila r survey had been

made vi th a simil a r resul t.

Has Mr . Killa ly examin ed this line .

If be bas not,

his late survey is not conclu sive on this point , and we mu st contin ue to believ e that the canal may be brought into the very city . 'l'hoUgh somew hat foreig n to the presen t subjec t, we that a canal is not c aJlnot help expre ssing our surpri se made connec ting Lurga n with Lough Neagh, which it appron mates within less than a mile and a half .

kar"" l ~,

9, 1819 .

.

Navig ation Office ,

1 am direc ted by the Board to

20 Oct. 1815,

desire that you will

t 0 t he line of p ch, despat roceed With all conve nient

CANALS CconLI Ulster Navigation and a scertain how far it may be practicable to carry a line from the summit level to the southward of the town of Monaghan, or fr om any of the descending levels by Mi ddlet oi-m to th e City of Armagh so a.s t o f all into s ome part of t he val e of the Callen River, by which you could trace a navigat ion to the junction of the river with t he Bl ackwate r :

or

by quitting the vale of the Callen northwar d of Ar magh ,

to connect the Canal with the Blackwater. xxx Henry R. Paine, As st. Sec .

To John Killaly, Esq. March 19, 1816.

Navi gation Office, 8 Sept . 1816.

Sir, I am directed by the Board t o acquain t you, that if you shall be a.ble to trace by whi ch the summit can be carried nearer t he ci ty of ' laid down by you, it i s th e Boa r d ' 5 line the than Armagh

or any other level

Wish that you will ascertain whether such new line may form a juncti on n0 t be extended in such a direction as t 0 With the summit of the Newry Navi gation · XXX

By Order of the Board . st Sec. Henry R. Paine, As • To John Killaly, Esq.

CANALS ( coutJ Mar ch 19' 1 816 .

Tull amore, J an . 31 , l 8l6 .

Sir, pur sua n t to the Boa r d ' s inst ruc tion s of the 20th of Oct . las t, I hav e eXp lore d the coun try in any various di rec ti ons , in o r der t o as cert ain whe t her clos e level of the pro pos ed nav igat ion migh t be brou ght to the city of Ar'llagh .

I firs t end eavour ed to push fo r wa r d _th e summit level , but fou nd th e gr oun ds for many mile s on the that south and eas t of Mon agha n so extr eme ly irre gul ar, s heavy an extr aor din ary deg ree of circ uity , ,-Ii th numerou leve l , embankments, wou ld b e req uis ite to pres e rve tha t excl usiv e of the ver y dee p sink ing thro ugh the high t hat from r wate n Tyna of vale the te ara sep h whic es ri dg of the Cal len . be I then tri ed whe ther the Boa rd ' s obje ct would ing attai ned , by de p art in g from the 16th leve l and sink but or tunn elli n g thro ugh the high gr ounds at Benbur b, th·ls pro j ect p rov ed equ ally uns ucc ess f u1 ·

I am

ther efor e of t h e opin ion t ha t t h e Ulst er Nav igat ion be brou ght nea rer to c annot at any rea s ona ble exp ense nor do I th map; my on n e City of Ar magh th an is show the line marked can be th ink tha t the g ene ral cou rse of departed from in any ma ter ial deg ree,

CANALS Ccont ,l I next proce eded in obedi ence to the Board 's order of the 8t h of Nove mber, so as to ascer tain ,;11ether the Ulst er Navi gatio n might not be exten ded, 50

as to form a junc tion with the Newry Canal ;

but

the high groun ds that lie in t hat direc tion rende r this plan ineli gibl e, as the line shoul d pas s withi n a short di stanc e of Porta down, from whence to the Newry summ it, dista nt about six miles , its cours e would be near ly para llel to the exist ing naviga tion.

Altho ugh t he entir e of the Board 's objec t cannot be attai ned I p resum e they will be grati fied to learn that a favou rable line may be found for exten ding the Ulste r Navi gatio n from near Black water to;m to the River Bann at Porta down, a dista nce of twelve and a half mile s on which there would be three desce nding lock s. xxxx

secti on and This lette r is accom panie d by a map th e cut estim ate of the line to Porta down , and also of s1ant ry and en betwe t repor r forme my (in allude d to alcul ated on th D c , bo of se The expen erryad d Bay) . canal exten sion, th 8 1 Roya the as s same dime nsion . eh £14 500 is charg eable to ' amounts to £101 , ooo of wtu th e latte r. xxxx

CANAL s CconLl UJ_itet Qaoal .

Dec. 1, 1842 .

William Dargan having purcha sed t he

Establishment l a tely carried on by the Ulster Canal steam Carry i ng Company and having made very considerable additions th e ret o in steam boats, bar ge s and war ehouses is prepared to fo r ward me rch andise of every descri pti on between the under men tioned pl aces wit h economy and

regularity.

Belfast Newry

Port adown Ballyronan New Port -Trench Coal Island Moy

Caledon Mona ghan Clone s Wattle bridge Belturbet Li sna skea Enniskillen .

At each of th e above stations William Dargan has

. an agen, t wi t h commo d i ous store s fo r the rece i pt and . de1ivery of Goods;

and thus t he following import ant

towns may conveniently and c h eapl y

communicate with all

or any of the above - named stations : Armagh Aughnacloy Aughe r Brooke borough Ballygawley Ballyconnel Balli bay Cavan Coot ehill Clo ghe r Cooks to,m Ca stledawson Coal I s l and

Dungannon Emyvale Fi vemiletown Killeshandra Lis naskea Lowthe r stown Magherafelt Moneymore Maghera Ne wbliSS Newto1-mbut1 er Stewartstown Sligo .

CANAL s Ccont .l On the 5th of December arrangements

will be made to start Fly Boa ts da ily f rom Be lfas t and Newry to Belturbet, Lis naskea and Enniskillen and f r o:n those places to Newry and Belfa st .

They will pr oceed full

or not, to their re spe ctive destinat i ons , calling at all the inter mediate St a tions along the line fo r the receipt and deliver y of Goods.

All goods requirin g eXpe di tion will be forwarded

by Railway to and from Belfast .

Spa re boats will be ready at t he different Stations to take in full cargoes.

Steam Boats .

The Grand Juncti on powerful ne w iron steam boa t will leave Ballyronan at half past six o ' cl ock wit h Goods and Passengers and calling at Newport Trench will arrive at Portadown a t ten o ' cl ock Railway Tr ain to Belfast , and for the Fly Boat to Newry, on th e morning of Monday , Wednesday, Friday and Satu rd ay a

nd

llill return to Ballyronan on Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday calling at Newport Trench . ,nll leave Vernersbridge ""-4 ll8 Countess of Caledon w~ 'th Goods and Passengers ev ery morning at seven o 'clock WJ. for the ten o ' clock and Will arri ve at Portadown in time and will return to Verner stra111 and the Newry fl y Boat

CANAL s <conU l of t h e ten o ' clock brl·dge immed iately a fter t h e arriva train f r om Belfa st .

The Count ess of E1'ne will pl y daily between wattleb ri dge, Beltu rbet, Lisnas kea and Ennisk illen .

Arrang ement s have b e en made for t he i mmedia te receipt and transh ipmen t of Goods at Belfas t, to and from Glasgo w, Ca rli sle, Dublin and London and at Newry and Liver pool.

For any furthe r inform ation, applic ati on

is r espect ively reque sted to the fo llowing agents Wi lliam Scott, Ennis killen .

Willia m Nobl e, Lisnas kea , J ames Finlay , Beltur bet .

Willia m M. Clarke , Clone s .

James Ho gg, Mona ghan .

Ynomas Armstr ong , Caledo n.

John Cubit t, Moy .

Joseph Ander son~ Coalis land.

David Gauss en, ball yronan .

William Freck leton, Newport Trench .

John Overe nd , Portadown .

Samue l Smith , Newry. t Joseph Hindl y, 81 Ann St . , BelfaS · By an arrang ement with the Ul st er Canal Company

Wi.1

liam Dar gan is bound to tow al 1

b

oa

ts that may offer

both between and in the or d er in which they arrive , th e 1agan, Newry and Ul ster Canals and also between This duty he killen.

EnniS and rbet llattieb ridge, Beltu fai· thfullY and impar tially.

Pledg m perfor to lf se him es hiS numerous Fr iends In conclu sion he begs to assure pains t o carry out and th e Public that he will spare no

.a.

CANALS Ccont .1. all the se diffic ult and comple x arrang ements wi th punctua lity, s afety and compar ative expedi tion.

He avails himse lf of the pre sent opport unity of most gratef ully a cknowl edgin g his obliga tions to the Right Honble . t he Ear l of Erne and to t he Tr ustees of tbe Earl of Lan es borou gh, fo r the libera l and

judicious mann e r in whi ch they have constr ucted Piers at Lisnas kea and Beltu rbet, fo r the accommodatio n of Trade .

July 4, 1843. £..:.., posed Branch Canal to Armwm.

We have receiv ed a p rinted prospe ctus of a mos t rationa l and lon g con templ a t ed projec t namely the format ion of a line of Canal f r om t he Ulst er Canal at HuJ.lyle g gan , near Bl a ckwa tert own direct to the cit y of !rmagh.

It is accom pani ed by a map and section of

th e line, prepa red by Thomas Casebo urne Esq ., Reside nt As the length · &inneer, to the Ulste r Canal Company· th e expense of the cut is only four miles and a half, apatil ists t cannot be such as to deter even moder a e c The estima ted co st from embark ing in the unde rtakin g . r land, Parliamentary expens es, ot the work is £17,00 0 and fo 20 000 to be rai sed in ' surveys, etc.' £3,00 0: the capita l four h llndred shares of £50 each. XXX

2.2.4

~27.5 .

CANALS Ccont,).

It appe ars that abou t 36 , 000 tons of mer chandise are now impor ted into Armagh and 18 ,000 expor ted annua lly makin g to ge ther 54,00 0 t ons. xxx Nov. 29, 1843 .

Ulste r Cana l.

Impo rtant Me eting held in conn e ction with th e propos ed Branc h Cana l to Armagh a t News Room, Tonti ne , Armagh.

Lord Caled on in the Chair and Wm . Dargan pr e sent .

Jan. 19, 1 847 .

Ulste r Cana l.

One of the Ulste r Canal boats , the prope rty of Mr . Darga n wa s abou t being laden on Tu esday 12th ins t .

With flour from the Tande ragee Mills for Newry .

It

was lying at a pla ce calle d Madden Bridg e, when it was attack ed by a pa rty of 30 men all armed who succee ded in carry ing off about five tons of flour .

(Cond ensed accou nt).

Feb. 25, 1840.

Ulste r Canal .

Lough Neagh st eambo ats.

Steam boat upon Lough Neagh which plies between th e for s canal Newry and Lagan Cbariemont and the P1lrpose of towin g such boa t s a.s maY have occas ion to cros s the lake. that the Ulste r Canal had ,~e (8 = adve rt state s e to t hat point ) . reached Mona ghan and is open for commerc

CANALS Ccont l March 20, 1821.

The Newry Canal.

Newry Canal P assage Boat.

The public are

respectfully informed that the Newry Canal Pas sage Boat will re-commence running between Knockbridge and Newry on Thursday, 22 March and will continue Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, leaving Knockbridge every Thursday morning at five o ' cloc k and arriving in Newry same day at ha l f past nine and will leave Newry the same evening and arrive Knockbridge at Will leave Scarva every

half past eight o ' clock.

Tuesday and Saturday at half past six in t he morning and arrive in Newry at half past nine.

Will return

in the evening at four and arrive in Scarva at seven o' clock.

Thomas Wilson, Proprietor.

Scarva, March 15, 1821.

Aug. 1, 1815'.

Editorial.

The Directors General of Inland Navigation have it in contemplation to connect Lough Erne with Lough lleagh by means of a canal, to commence within half a and conti· nue from the Blackwater Blackwatertown, to the DaVigable River Finn, which flows into Lough al will be brought &rne.

A branch of this intended can

lilile 0 f

CANALS Ccont.) to Grange more, within a mile and a half of t he city of Arillagh.

Anoth er bran ch nea r the extrem ity of the cut,

will extend into the roy al canal.

This noble under-

taking when perfe cted, will open u p a commer cial communication acros s the whole kingdo m - the benef its that will resul t from i t a re truly inc alcula ble .

Mr . Killa ly who survey ed the groun d over wh ich this canal is inten d ed to be made toward s the city of Armagh, mus t termi nate in the neighb ourhoo d of Grange more, as tbe elevat ed gr ound s a round that city will preven t any nearer appro ximat ion.

On this subjec t we beg leave t o

state to the Direc tors Gener al and their able engine er that about 30 years ago Mr. Owen who superi ntende d the canal from Lisbu r n to Lough Neagh, made a survey and The line estimate of the then intend ed Armagh Canal. wilich he select ed, crosse d the Callan river, a little below Geary, s Bridg e and runni ng throug h Drum sill and th e llillyli n, re-cro ssed the Blackw atertow n road, on th e Armagh side of Bagen al's Bridge , and passin g over th e place road from Blackw atertow n to Charl emont, at called the Rampa rt, joined the Blackw ater immedi ately below that road .

The e stimat e of the whole expens e

'tas then £13,50 0 ,

It would cost double that sum now.

Probably a bette r, though a longe r line than above,

CANALS Ccont, l aJ.ght be found by going to the right of the Lough gall road, as far a s Grang e, crossi ng the road on this side of the church , and follow in g a course n ea rly paral lel

to the line of direc tion to the Callan to the Black water below Charle mont.

It appea rs from the Survey made by Mr. Owens, that the canal mi ght be cut from the Black water to the very city of Armagh, at no very enorm ous expens e .

The best

explanation which we can now give of the int ention s of the Direct ors Gener al will be found in the two follow ing letters .

Papers respe cting a survey fo r a Navi gation betwee n Lough Erne and Lough Ne agh .

To their Excel lencie s the Lord s Justic e s .

Navig ation Office , 8 April 1815.

May it please Your Excel lencie s -

We humbly beg

leave to repres ent to your Excel lencie s, that in fur th erance of the measu re recommende d in repres entati on frolll t his Board to His Grace the Lord Lieute nant , dated ~~~

I

~ay 1810, and which was honou red with His Grace s

aPJlrobation, viz. the makin g of gener al survey s, in

'ar1 OUs Parts of Irelan d, to ascer tain by what lines,

CANALS Ccont, l canals of navigati on , may be carried with a view of assistin g the noblemen and gentleme n i n their objects for the improvem ent of the country, by shewing them the course in which such navigati on may be practica ble .

We dire ct ed Mr. Killaly, our engineer , to ascertain whether a navigab le communi cation could be formed from any part of the deep water of the river Erne, near Belturbe t , or from the southern extremit y of Lough Erne, thr ough the counties of Cavan, Monaghan, Armagh and Tyrone, so as to fall into the river Blackwat er in the neighbou rhood of the city of Armagh , or of Blackwatertown, which now communi cates with Lough Neagh by that river; and with referenc e to the necessar y supply of water, we instruct ed Mr . Killaly, if the rise of ground between Lough Erne and Lough Neagh should prevent either the River Erne or Lough Neagh from becoming a summit, to ascertai n the streams which fall into the lakes, would th is or would not afford a sufficie nt supply for connectin g navigati on . rders, Mr. Killaly has with O our of In pursuanc e racticab ilitY of carryth .

P e ed ll!Uch diligenc e ascertain . ver Finn which falls n the from ing a line of navigati on near the ttlebridg e, which passing into Lough Erne near Wa the villages of &nithboro, nd towns of Clones and Monaghan a

'El .

.CANALS Ccont. l and Benbur b, on led Ce h, ug lo ss la G n, na M id dl et ow n, Ty a mi le above Blacklf ha , er at kw ac Bl r ve ri jo in s t h e of th is lin e is 35½ nt te ex e ol wh e Th . wn rto wa te de sc en di ng lo ck s, 18 d an g in nd ce as x si m ile s, ha vi ng ich Mr. K ill al y has wh , ch an br fof an of e ex cl us iv ci ty of Armagh. e th of d oo rh ou hb ig ne e la id ou t to th th e pr ob ab le co st of ed at tim es s ha ly la il K .

Mr al es , one be in g fo r a sc l ra ve se e re th on up th e li ne s wi th th e Royal Canal on si en m di r ila m si of l na ca fe et wide at th e bottom, 40 22 be to . z vi , ns io ns te ex th 6 fe et de pt h of water wi e, ac rf su er at w at de fe et wi es de pt h on lo ck ch in e re th et fe 5 d an l, in th e ca na cond upon a scal e se A .

68 ,9 22 £2 to g in nt si ll s, am ou tto m , 30 fe et wide at water bo e th at de wi et fe 15 of pt h of wa te r on si ll s, and de es ch in 3 et fe 4 e, ac su rf and br id ge s si m ila r s ck lo th wi , ls na ca e th 5 fe et de ep in ex te ns io n, amounting to l na Ca l ya Ro e th on e os to th 0 fo r a ca na l ,00 75 £1 to g in nt ou am d ir th £1 95 ,0 00 and th e et at water fe et wide at bottom, 25 fe 1 and 3 fe et Upon a sc al e 13 . th e ca na ' h of wa te r in pt de su rf ac e, 4 fe et ng and 10 · 11 s, wi· th lo clc s 80 fe et lo 6 in ch es on th e 51 in propor tio n. fe et wide an d br id ge s et c.

K ill al y' s map of th e .

Mr We he re w ith su bm it . re po rt and of the th hi s pr op os ed li ne , to ge th er wi

CANALS Ccont, l det aile d esti mat e furn ishe d by him.

the

Your Exc elle nci es heig ht of the summit prec lude s po ssi bil it y of tak ing up the wat ers of Lough Ern e,

or of the Riv er Ern e, as a sup ply for the prop osed at nav i ga tion , an d Mr. Kil laly hav ing mad e his Survey aint y a wet seas on, is una ble to spea k with posi tiv e cert of the abu nda nce of sup ply, but he exp ress es stro ng for hopes tha t the stre ams which he prop oses to t ake in that pur pos e wil l be suf fici ent even in the summer seas on.

We beg leav e to obs erve , th at this line of le nav igat ion , app ears to be by much the most favo urab of any as yet asc erta ine d in t his coun try: and that its exe cuti on would be prod ucti ve of inca lcul able , by ben efit s to a larg e por tion of the No rth of Irel and n, affo rdin g the cou ntie s of Fermanagh, Cava n, Monagha method of tran s po rth d eap c an ady re a Tyron e and Armagh, in ing the redu nda nt prod uce of the ir l ands , which are b rley and oats , to the t gen eral , very fer tile in whe a, a d Armagh , which wil l deri ve an mar kets of Bel fast , Newry wel l as from the oppo rtun ity gre at adv anta ges ther eby , as lyin g the fore goin g cou ntie s, Supp affo rde d tho se tow ns, of t groc erie s and flax seed , Id th coa ls, tim ber, iron , sal t ' the king.dom at larg e, .

0 g ltin resu also ge anta adv The

CANALS CQ.imLI. by the uni ting by mea ns of this can al, the Newry, Ern e, Tyr one and Lag an Na vi ga tion s, with tha t of Lough nno n com:nuni c atin g wi th t h e No rth Wes t Coa st at Ball ysha and and ther eby ope ning a communic atio n by Sti ll Wa ter No rth Eas tern and Nor th We ster n coa sts of this coun are too evi den t to req uire any furt her comment .

try,

be As t h e c omp leti on of this na vi ga tion would pec ulia rly ben efic ial to the land ed int eres t in tha part of Irel and , it at pre sen t not enjo yi ng the

t

adv anta ge of inla nd nav igat ion , we trus t that the land ed pro prie tors are so far aliv e to the ir own inte res ts, and pos sess such a spir it of nati ona l ith imp rove men t, as wil l indu ce them to come fo rwar d w sub scri ptio ns tow ards defr ayin g t he expe nse of the exe cuti on of so des irab le a work, when t hey are app rize d tha t so favo urab le a line f or a cana l has We the refo re propose to e. abl ctic pra been f oun d circ ulat ed fo r the info rand ted hav e the pap e rs prin t he vici nity ma tion of the nob lem en and gent lem en in of t he exte nde d line , and we humbly pray your Exc elle ncie s appr oba tion th ereo f .

We have the honour to be etc .

Dan iel Corn e~ll e .

G. A. Bou veri e .

James Sau rin .

~2.33.

CANALS Ccont. l To Fran cis Fren ch Esq . etc .

Tulla more , Feb. 2, 1815 .

Sir - In obed ienc e to the Boar d's orde r of 1st

Nov . last , I have laid out a line of Navi gatio n between Lough Erne and Blac kwat erto~ m:

a map, secti on and

estim ate of whic h I have the hono ur to lay befo re them.

On this line whic h is 35½ mile s in leng th, 6 asce ndin g and 18 desc endi ng lock s will be requ ired, the summ it bein g 70 feet abov e Lough Erne , 162 feet abov e the Blac kwat er.

The line depa rts from near Watt le Bridg e; it passe s one mile to the south ward of Clon es, runs to Monaghan, near the villa ges of Smit hbor o', Middletown , Tynan, Cale don and Benb urb, and joins the Blac kwat er, half a As the river can be made mile abov e Blac kwat ertow n. navi gabl e to this poin t at a mode rate expe nse, I recommend ente ring here , rath er than enco unter the cost and diff i cult y of exten ding the cana l to the town .

Havi ng asce rt ained the impr actic abili ty of carry ing th en I . l leve it summ into Erne h the rive r Erne or Loug tried that the l e vel migh t not be fed by an off- branch f t he roya l cana l • xt from the prop osed north ern e ensio n ° t f 0 und I could not bu or from t he Bally hays rive r, The only wate rs th erefo re deri ve a supp ly from eith er .

~.

CANAL s Ccont, l that can be had for the summit l evel, are the heads of the river Finn which runs throug h Wattle Bridge and the stream s that flow from Drumnaconner, Scotst m-m, and Tedav ent, which I have strong hopes would be found a suffic ient supply , partic ularl y as I propose sinkin g deep throug h the summit level , prepa ring for 8 feet deep of water , and givin g but small f alls t o t he locks at its extre mitie s .

The weath er being very wet, and

the river much swell ed when I made the survey , preven ted me from ascer tainin g the matte r with more certai nty.

The line is free from any materia l di f ficult y until it reach es the falls of Benbu rb, where t he Blackwater runs with great rapid ity for about 120 perche s through a deep and rocky ravin e, for this distan ce we must unavo idably keep close to the river, and t he bread th of the canal must be contra cted, so as merely to admit the but as five locks will be requir ed ; boat passa ge of one near this, I do not much re gret the excava tion through rock; on most other point s of the line is of so soft a thwork very easy of execut ion . ear the natur e as to rende r .ch the proposed naviga tion whJ. h The count ry throug f t·le in grain partic ularly ' would pass is in gener al very er i so afford s excel lent pastur age. al it barley and oats; d pork are sent from thence Much butte r and live cattle an

CANALS Ccont. l t th e Li m es to ne is ab un da nt , bu s a gr ea t d m os t l y cu t ou t, oc ca si on

to B el fa st an d Newry ,

bog s be in g sm al l an s of th e lin e, rt pa ny ma on el fu of ty sc ar ci th e Pr ov in ce of o t lt su re d ul wo ts fi ne Gr ea t be th is ca na l by it s af fo rd of n io ut ec ex e th om r f U ls te r th e re dundan t pr oduce g in rt o sp an tr of de mo p in g a ch ea Monaghan , Tyr one , , h ag an rm Fe n, va Ca of s of t he co un tie and Armagh, wh ic h y wr Ne t, s fa el B of ts ke et c. to th e m ar th os e be ne fi ts would in ng ti pa i ic rt pa s de si towns be be r, ir on , sa lt , fl ax tim r fo nt ve y ad re a nd th e re by fi se ed , gr oc er i es , et c. in vi tin g fo r ly ar li cu pe be so al d ul wo The ca na l at s , and hi gh l y bo ge sa s pa of nt e hm is bl t he es ta of fu el from Lough Neagh ce an ey nv co e th in us eo adva nt ag tio ne d, to many pa rt s of and t he to wn s I ha ve m en y fo r house us e, bu t l on t no gh ma Ar d an ne ro Monaghan, Ty e, t he farm er s be in g at lim of g in rn bu e th r fo al so m li mi ng th ei r fro ed ud cl e pr , ee gr de t ~a pr es en ~ in a gr co al . la nd s fo r wa nt of tu rf or su re to le ar n th at ea pl e th d ha I , ey rv su D ur in g my an ex ce lle nt and d e ov er th er e ha d l a te ly be en di sc ic kn es s, ·tu m in ou s coal 9 fe et in th bl. ex te ns iv e ve in of f Lough Neagh, which 0 sh or e con ve ni en t to th e no rt he rn I co ns id er th is a va nt age . is now wo rk in g to gr ea t ad

CANALS CCQD.W matter of vital importance to the co\ll1try and a further incentive to the execution of this canal.

Th e locks though more numerous than could be wished, wuld afford several excellent sites for flour mills, the want of wh ich is so great in many parts of Cavan, Fermanagh and Monaghan , that flour is now brought by land carriage to those places from Slane, Navan and Kells, a distance of 30 or 40 miles.

The line between Lough Erne and Lough Neagh would in many other respects be extremely desirable pa rticularly if a canal from Belleek to Ballyshanno n were executed as by

those means a safe and internal navigation would be

opened on the nort,h ern parts on the eastern and western nd sides of the kingdom, thereby avoiding the danger atte ant t nd on a sea voya ge between those places , which I underS a nd th e is at times as tedious as one to the West Indies, a freight and insurance nearly as great .

By the execution of those canals, a door would be from the north - western par t rket ma opened to the English be encouraged, the comforts ld of Ireland, agricultur e wou of the poor increased, and a check put to the spirit of that part of the 8tlligrat1on , at present so prevalent in kingdom .

.QANALS Ccont , l The main t r unk of the pr opo sed li ne bein g f our ch mil es dis t ant from Armagh , I have l ai d out an off - bran to With in one and a half mile s of that city : t he high in gr ound on whic h it stan ds and the diff icul ties of obta ing wa ter for locl cage , pre vent s a near er app r oa ch .

Alt hough a junc tion be t ween the Roy al Cana l and tha t l whic h is now prop osed , wou ld be high l y desi rabl e , I fee incl ined t o View it ra t he r a s a dist inct mea sure : sati sf ied t ha t t he line I have desc ribe d would be of uni vast a dvan ta ge to the nati on, inde pend ent of any comm cati on With the met ropo lis, par ticu larl y when the pro je cted impr ovements of the Laga n naV igat ion are d comp lete d, an d some t ha t I conc eive migh t also be foun l advi sabl e betw een Newry and Lough Neagh; name l y a cana abou t one mile and a qua rter i n l engt h, from t he rive r

Bann, near Slai ntry into Derr yadd bay by which eigh t or on ten mile s of circ uity would be save d in the com mun icati des With Bel fast and t h e east ern coas t of Lough Neagh , besi avoi ding t he mos t tedi ous pa rt of the Newry Nav igati on .

Not bein g lim ited by t he Boar d ' s orde r to any ed Pa rt icul ar size for the propos ed cana l , I have calc ulat n, on one of sim ilar dime nsio ns to the Roya l Cana l exte nsio as bein g suit ed to the pass age of boat s capa ble of nav igat ing t he lake s _ my deta iled estim ate for this allloun t to £222 ,968 .

CANALS (con t . l A cana l of 1 5 feet wide at the botto m, 30 feet at

wate r surf ace, 4 feet 3 inch es dept h of wate r on sil ls, and 5 feet in cana ls, with lock s and bridg es simi lar to thos e on the Roya l Cana l exte nsio n would cost £195 ,000 and one of 30 feet wide at botto m, 25 feet at wate r surf ace, 4 feet dept h of wate r in cana l and 3 feet 6 inch es on sill s, with lock s 80 feet long and ten feet wide , brid ge s, etc. in prop ortio n would cost about £175 ,000 .

I have the honour to be etc .

John Kill aly.

For SLANTRY see Co . Armagh O. S. Shee t 6. Shoim as a . the t own 1a nd of Carn on t be . ge in brid a for name Marked on Survey t f • oo Bann to n adow Port way from of 1835 and pres ent 0,S. shee t.