236 IRELAND [NATIONAL WEALTH. income tax from the income of officials. According to these returns the net produce of the revenue was in 1870 7,287,127, in 1871 (not including that of the post-office) 7/291,393, 15s. 4d., in 1875 7,970,050, 13s. 7d., and in 1879 6,616,455. The revenue of England in 1879 amounted to 54,456,718, and of Scotland to 7, 719, 500. No separate post-office returns have been published since 1870. In 1860 the gross produce of the sale of crown lands amounted to 15,537, and the annual income of land revenue to 48,358 ; in 1870 they were respectively 1283 and 45,000, and in 1880 3506 and 41,589. The items of the expenditure of the ex chequer of Ireland for 1868 (the last year for which returns are given) are interest of public funded debt payable in Ireland, 1,188,654; other payments in connexion with the consolidated fund services, 278,015; army, 3,560,000; miscellaneous civil services, 1,594,525. Since 1817 the public debt of Ireland on account of the consolidation of the British and Irish exchequer has ceased to form a separate item in the national account. Table XXXVII. shows its progress from 1716 till that period. Banking. A notice of the banks of Ireland will be found in the article BANKING, vol. iii. p. 336. The deposits in joint-stock banks amounted in 1840 to 5,567,851, in 1850 to 8,268,838, in 1860 to 15,609,237, in 1870 to 24,366,478, and in 1880 to 29,350,000. The deposits in trustees savings banks in 1846 amounted to 2,855,827, but in 1850 had declined to 1,291,798 ; in 1860 the amount was 2,143,282, in 1870 2,054,907, and in 1880 2,100,165. The deposits in post-office savings banks in 1862, the year in which they were founded, were 78,696, in 1870 583,165, and in 1880 1,229,000. The amount of Govern ment and India stock held in Ireland amounted in 1870 to 36,549,000, and in 1880 to 33,113,000. National Wealth. From a variety of circumstances it is difficult to arrive at an approximate estimate of the wealth of Ireland ; and there is no proper basis for a comparison with the other portions of the United Kingdom among other reasons from the fact that by far the largest part of the wealth of Ireland is derived from agriculture. The Tenement Valuation Act, passed in 1846 and amended in 1852, TABLE XXXIII. Accraye Annual Produce of Revenue, 1730-1801. Gross Net Gross Net Produce. Produce. Produce. Produce.
1730-39
551,751
472,303
1770-79
971,041
749.507
17-10-4!)
569,920
487,389
1780-89
1,335,097
900,511
1750-5!)
729,482
632,757
1790
1,695,398
1,147,967
1760-69
892,071
747,194
1792-1801
2,161,939
1,801,901
according to which the property of Ireland is rated for purposes of
local and imperial taxation, has the disadvantage of having been
applied in different parts of the country at different periods, and
in the southern and western counties at a time when the value of
property on account of the famine had very much deteriorated.
No provision except of an optional kind has been made for a
revaluation of property other than buildings and similar external
additions to the value of the soil. It is probable therefore that
the present valuation, which is a little short of 14,000,000, is
deficient by about 5,000,000. The case of Ireland is also excep
tional from the large amount of wealth that immediately after it is
produced is removed to be spent elsewhere, and of capital invested
in Irish undertakings which is held by persons who do not reside
in Ireland. The value of the agricultural produce and stock, the
chief item of the wealth, is of course variable, and the rise in value
is due solely to increase of price and to increase in the number of
live stock, which of course represents the produce of more than one
year. It is also a fallacious method of calculating its value to add
that of produce and live stock together, as a great part of the
produce is employed in feeding the live stock. In Ireland a con
siderable amount of money is probably hoarded privately, and the
increase of deposits in banks can scarcely be regarded as altogether
a symptom of prosperity, as the money thus deposited might in
most cases be more advantageously employed by the farmer in
improving his land. On the other hand, since the passing of the
Land Act of 1870, indebtedness has largely increased among the
farmers. A method of estimating the capital of Ireland has been
employed by Dr Hancock from the amount of capital passing
annually under probate of wills and letters of administration, calcu
lating this capital as 2 66 per cent, of the whole. Table XXXVIII.,
formed according to this method, shows the annual average
amount of capital from 1 826 at various periods of five years, and
the amount of capital possessed by each head of the population,
this being reckoned according to the year most nearly corresponding
with those for which the average is given.
Railways. The railway from Dublin to Kingston, which was
opened in the end of 1834, was the first and for several years the
only railway in Ireland. The progress of the railway system
from that period is shown in Table XXXIX. For a comparison
with England and Scotland see ENGLAND, vol. viii. p. 237 ; it will
be observed that the proportion of traffic in relation to popula
tion is very much smaller in Ireland.
Vital Statistics. In the Transactions of the Roy ul Irish Academy
for 1865, part iii., will be found an account by W. H. Hardinge of
a copy which he accidentally discovered of a manuscript census
survey of Ireland arranged in counties, baronies, parishes, and
townlands, and in cities, parishes, and streets, and belonging in
TABLE XXXIV. Revenue from Excise, Customs, <L-c., 1720-1880.
1720.
1700.
1790.
1800.
1810.
1820.
1827.
1830.
1840.
1S50.
1860.
1870.
1880.
Excise
440 536
646 <>24 1 238 721
2 422 746
1 650,104
1.907,335
1.754,215
1,956,445
1,385,258
1.494,747
2.790,970
3,597.519
4,068,335 1,788,380 1,730,837 1,976,498 1,555,600 2,132,731 2,064,998 2.268,962 2,049,374 54812 165,121 634,706 449,846 470,757 478,638 453,209 4T9.684 524,116 580,288 618,067 Post-office . . 44 156 76260 178,965 188,105 197,907 229,994 97,156 170,061 261,550 331,116 Income-tax 7-28,887 613,113 470,808 TABLE XXXV. Annual Income and Expenditure, 1689-1800. Net Income. Net Expenditure. Net Income. Net Expenditure. s. d s. d. s. d. s. d. 1689 152,809 17 11 190,715 11 3 1751 600,236 12 1 626,738 10 3 1701 411.819 3 9 415,033 5 1 1761 571.942 7 3 773,940 2 10 1711 298.194 16 11 300,182 19 1771 707.996 3 6 808,546 7 5 1721 408.066 16 4 422,917 16 8 1781 739,850 4 81 1,015.266 12 6 1731 405,178 1 7 407,758 18 1 1791 1,313,476 12 3 1,384,087 13 2 1741 441.230 9 11 441.736 2 10 1800 3,017,757 18 10 6,615,959 2 5 TABLE XXXVI. Annual Income and Expenditure, 1801-68. Net Income. Net Expenditure. Net Income. Net Expenditure 1801 1817 1834 s. d. 2,645,736 4,561,353 3,814,401 3 82 s. d. 4,922,524 17,677,649 3,439,895 5 1^ 1850 I860 1868 .. d. 4,332,459 16 7,851,612 12 11 6,176,390 7 8 .. d. 4,120,841 11 6,331,223 12 7 0,021,193 17 11 TABLE XXXVII. -^Public Debt of Ireland, 1716-1817. 1716. 1720. 1730. 1740. 1750. 1762. 1770. 1780. 1790. 1800. 1810. 1817. Debt
16,106
87,511
220,730
296,988
205,117
223,438
628,883
1,067,565
1,586,067
22,345,190
75,240,790
134,602,769 TABLE XXXVIII. Estimated Capital of Ireland. Capital passing under Probates. Estimated Capital. Rate pel- Head. According to Population in
1826-30 3.448 443 129,641,000 17 1831 1836-40 3.755,758 141,194,000 17 1841 1816-50 2.534,611 95,286,000 15 1851 1856-60 4,220,395 158,061,000 20 1861 1871-75 6,815,866 256.236,000 48 1S71 1876-79 7,390,612 277,843,000 54 1881 TABLE XXXIX. llaihcay Statistics. Miles. Passengers. Receipts. Miles. Passengers. Receipts.
1836
6
1,237.800
35,421
1860
1364
9,991,118
1,368,447
1840
13^
1,358,761
36,590
1865
1838
13.186,055
1,710,506
1845
65
3,4X1,797
119,398
1870
1975
14.339,444
2,072,995
1850
515
5.495,796
514,035
1875
2148
16.894,398
2.671,154
1855
987
7,212,286
999,832
1880
2378
17,185,338
2,658,136
