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Original Papers: Irish Flax Manufactures. 
IRISH FLAX MANUFACTURES. 
BY J. MACADAM, JUN. 
THE flax-plant (linum usitatissimum) is not indigenous to Ireland, but was
probably introduced from the East by the Phcenician merchants who visited
its 
coasts. The climate and soil were found to be admirably adapted to it, and
its 
culture and manufacture into clothing were among the earliest industrial
occu- 
pations of the native Irish, since we learn that, on the English invasion,
linen 
shirts or coats, dyed with saffron, were worn, and in the sumptuary laws
subse- 
quent to that period it was thought necessary to provide against the extravagant
size and width of these favourite vestments. The early history of this manu-
facture resembles that of all others where natural products have been fashioned
by the hand of man for domestic use. The weaver of the linen was in most
cases the grower of the flax, and all the subsequent manipulations were per-
formed by his household. By degrees, however, the great principle of division
of labour asserted its importance, and the manufacture of the spun fibre
into 
a woven and bleached fabric was carried on by those who found it to their
advantage to devote their entire attention to this pursuit. In the reign
of 
Charles II. the Earl of Strafford was so convinced of the imprtance of flax-
culture and manufacture, that, at his own charge, he imported superior seed,
erected looms, procured workmen from France and Flanders, and sent a ship
to Spain at his own risk with the first investment of linen that had ever
been 
exported from Ireland. This manufacture was carried on with but little gene-
ral improvement in the processes, until the revocation of the edict of Nantes,
by Louis XIV., drove many of the Huguenot families to seek a refuge in Ire-
land, and among their number several individuals who had been acquainted
with the manufacture of linens in France. In the reign of William III. the
British parliament, jealous of the growing importance of the Irish woollen
manufacture, which was found to interfere seriously with the staple trade
of 
England, passed several arbitrary enactments with a view to destroy the Irish
trade, and, by way of compensation, at the same time resolved to encourage
and develope the manufacture of linens in Ireland. A colony of some seventy
persons from France and Holland, under the direction of Mr. Louis Crommelin,
an experienced manufacturer, was sent to the north of Ireland, and from the
date of their settlement may be reckoned the progress of the linen manufac-
ture up to its present point of excellence. An Act was passed in the year
1699, in Queen Anne's reign, for the regulation of the linen manufacture,
pro- 
viding for the appointment of a Board in Ireland, to be called the Trustees
for 
the Linen and Hempen Manufactures, to encourage in every way the culture
and 
proper manipulation of the flax-plant, and to regulate and improve its manu-
facture into linens. To provide funds for these purposes, the produce of
cer- 
tain duties was assigned, according to the custom which then obtained in
the 
financial concerns of the state. The first meeting of these trustees was
con- 
vened in Dublin on the 10th October, 1711, by the Duke of Ormond, then 
Lord Lieutenant. Having been duly constituted, they entered upon the dis-
charge of their functions, and until -the year 1828 this Board existed, having
the entire control and direction of the culture and manufacture of flax in
Ire- 
land. The chief means which they adopted, in furtherance of the views with
which they had been appointed, were,-the importation of the best Russian
and Dutch flax-seed,-the distribution of the most approved implements,-the
location of competent persons to superintend the management of the flax,-
the supervision through inspectors and sealmasters of the different localities
where the manufacture was carried on,-the inspection and branding of sowing-
seed,-the distribution of bounties for the saving of flax-seed, for the hand-
spinning of fine yarn, the erection of scutch-mills, the establishment of
spinning-factories,-and the manufacture and exportation of certain kinds
of 
fabrics. The funds applicable to these purposes, from 1711 to 1737, averaged
Journal of Design. No. 22, December, 1850,                    o