Halpins of Wicklow, etc. - Part 4

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In the interests of a greater understanding of the local, national and international factors that impinged on the thoughts and actions of the Halpins of Wicklow, I include here one of the most important and revealing documents in our survey so far.  It is the story of a meeting that took place between a group of enterprising Wicklow residents and the most influential man in the country at that time, the Lord Lieutenant, who represented the seat of British power in Ireland.  The purpose of the meeting was to present a petition from the people of Wicklow to the Lord Lieutenant outlining the reasons why they felt it was in the interests of almost everyone to improve the town's harbour.  But as soon as the petition is presented to the Lord Lieutenant, he begins to take it apart.  The exchange that followed essentially defined the political debate that would take place in Wicklow for the following twenty years, in which men of vision and promise clashed repeatedly with a coalition of hard-nosed pragmatists and obstructive local landlords. 

Part 1.

Deputation to the Lord Lieutenant.

A deputation, appointed by the Grand Jury of the county of Wicklow, waited yesterday on His Excellency the Lord Lieutenant to present to him a memorial praying for Government aid in the construction of a refuge harbour, or a fishing pier at Wicklow.  The deputation consisted of Viscount Powerscourt, Sir George Hodson, Bart; Col. Tottenham, Wm R La Touche, Robert Chas Wade, Andrew Wm Byrne, George Wynne, Chairman of the Town Commissioners; John Chapman, Chairman of the Harbour Commissioners; George H Halpin, John P Hopkins, and Robert F Ellis.

His Excellency was attended by Mr Lefanu, Commissioner of the Board of Works, and Capt Lascelles, A D C.

The deputation was introduced to His Excellency by Sir George Hudson, Bart, who stated that the object of the deputation in approaching his Excellency was to call his attention to the tidal estuary at Wicklow, with the view to the construction of a fishing pier.

Mr. George Wynne, Chairman of the Town Commissioners of Wicklow, read the memorial as follows:-

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Part 2.

The Memorial Of The Gentry, Merchants, And Inhabitants Of The Town And County Of Wicklow, Showeth -

That for many years, the necessity of improved harbour accommodation at the mouth of the River Lietrim, in Wicklow Bay, has been felt to be as much an object of national importance as it is absolutely essential to the development of the trade connected with this county, and the shipping of the port.  That Wicklow Bay is clear, easy of access, and affords good anchorage and shelter from sixteen points of the compass, with unrivalled natural advantages for the construction of a breakwater - in fact is the only place for such, between Kingstown and Waterford, where certainty of success could be relied upon.  That, for want of fascilities for egress and ingress at any time of the tide, the use of large boats is impracticable in the fishery of the place, and that without such boats (which the fishermen and inhabitants are willing to provide) the waters on this coast cannot be regularly and systematically fished.  That the large fleet of fishing boats which frquent the channel, off our coast, are unable to land their cargoes at all times of the tide, at Wicklow, for transit per rail, to the Dublin market; and when obliged by stress of weather to put into harbour at Wicklow, it is quite impossible to provide accommodation for such numbers as at times seek for shelter, to the great inconvenience of the trade of the port, and danger to life and property, the harbour being unprotected from easterly gales.  That since the introduction of deep-sea fishing tackle, and its general use wherever it can be adopted, our fishermen and their sons, from the causes above stated, have gradually abandoned that occupation and become seamen in coasting and foreign vessels, to the very great detriment of the trade of the town, as well as loss to the country of much valuable and cheap food.  That, although an exceedingly hardy and fine race of men, remarkable for their peaceable and domesticated habits, and possessing qualities which have distinguished many of them in the Royal Navy, the fishermen of this port are not only gradually becoming extinct, but that those who remain, or who have become seamen, cannot even join the Naval Reserve, since it is impossible for the Royal gunboats to find shelter while enlisting.  That, for the sake of the mercantile marine of the Channel, and on account of the fishery and general interests of the locality, as well as the supply of a hardy race of men to the Royal Navy and the Navy Reserve, the erection of a fishery pier or harbour of refuge at this port is necessarily a matter not merely of local but national value, a question of imperial importance.  That, in support of these views, the memorialists beg to call your Excellency's attention to the following extract, written so far back as January 1853, by Barry D Gibbons*, Esq., Engineer to the Board of Works, Ireland:- Extract from Mr Gibbons' report: 'A general, or what I may call a national object, of inestimable value, may be obtained here, by the construction of a breakwater, running north from the Black Castle point, masking a portion of the bay, and thereby converting it into a harbour of refuge for the trade of the channel.  Its position, and the configuration of the land, hold out strong inducements to recommend such a project, when we consider the incredible number of vessels, especially coasters, which, bound down the channel, meet with adverse winds and thick weather about Wicklow Head, and are obliged to run back to Kingstown or elsewhere for shelter, throwing away the windward advantage which it took them perhaps days to attain.  I shall not enter farther upon this; although a refuge-harbour of moderate capacity may be constructed here at a comparatively small cost - certainly far within its value in a national point of view.' 

The Memorialists, therefore, humbly and earnestly pray your Excellency will take the foregoing facts into your consideration, and recommend to Government the construction of a pier at Wicklow, a work which your memorialists have no hesitation in saying will prove of inestimable value to the navigation of the Irish Channel, as well as a valuable means of saving life and property from the numerous shipwrecks which your memorialists have so often painfully witnessed upon this coast.''

*Gibbons, working under Isambard Kingdom Brunel, surveyed the proposed extension of the Dalkey line to Wicklow in 1856.  Brunel designed and supervised the construction of the Great Eastern.  For more on Gibbon, see: http://www.dia.ie/architects/view/2119/GIBBONS-BARRYDUNCAN

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Part 3.

The Lord Lieutenant said he thought the memorial referred to three very different things - a fishery harbour, a mercantile harbour, and a harbour of refuge.  Now, fishery piers in some cases had been constructed under the special powers given by Acts of Parliament for the advancement of loans for the purpose.  With respect to a harbour of refuge it did not come under the designation of works authorised to be promoted by the act.  He would wish the deputation to consider whether it was a fishery pier alone that was wanted, for the sum applicable to such a purpose was very small. 

Sir George Hodson said that what the deputation wanted included both a harbour of refuge and a fishery pier.

The Lord Lieutenant remarked that he understood the advance for a fishery pier could not exceed £5,000.  Mr Lefanu said no greater sum could be advanced by the Board of Works.  The Lord Lieutenant said he was afraid that the works contemplated were of such a character as to cost a great deal more than £5,000.

Mr Andrew W Byrne - If the Government once arrive at a determination to construct a harbour of refuge it would embrace the fishery pier, and open the harbour for merchandise.
The Lord Lieutenant - Then you contemplate a harbour of refuge?
Mr Byrne - Yes.
The Lord Lieutenant - That is a large consideration, and I must point out to the deputation that Wicklow is not one of the harbours named by the Commissioners who had inquired into that subject.  They have named only three harbours - Carlingford, Portrush, and Waterford - and I think it is hardly probable that the Government will consider a harbour not recommended by the Commissioners.
Mr Byrne called attention to the fact that a harbour of refuge at Wicklow was a necessity in consequence of the navigation, and instanced the recent loss of the 'Armenian' in support of his argument.
The Lord Lieutenant showed he could not take upon himself to recommend the construction of a harbour of refuge where the Commissioners had not recommended it, and even if he did he feared his representation would have very little weight.  He would wish to know if  any application had been made under the provisions of the Act of 1861, which authorised the Board of Trade to recommend advances for harbour works, other than fishery piers, and to extend the repayment over a period of fifty years.

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Part 4.

Lord Powerscourt - Is that where the limitation is to £5,000?
The Lord Lieutenant - No; I know an instance where, I think, the advance obtained was £40,000, but there the works were to cost a quarter of a million.
Mr Byrne - Was that a loan or a gift?
The Lord Lieutenant - A loan.
Mr Byrne - On the security of the tolls?
The Lord Lieutenant - Of course.

Mr Chapman, Chairman of the Harbour Commissioners of Wicklow, said that there were difficulties in the way of this loan, arising from the fact of the tolls having been mortgaged to the Town Commissioners in consideration of an advance of £14,000, to be expended on the harbour works.  He believed that the Board of Trade, for any money they advanced, required the repayment to be a first charge on the property.
The Lord Lieutenant - They require it, of course; but if this would be for the benefit of the place, probably the Town Commissioners would allow it to be a first charge.
Mr Byrne said it being Corporate property he feared the Commissioners could hardly allow another claim to take priority over their lien*.
The Lord Lieutenant - Well, they might get an Act to enable them to do so.
Mr Chapman said they would be quite satisfied if they could get a fishery pier.
The Lord Lieutenant - That is another matter.  Do you think this is a place that can come under the designation of a fishing harbour?  For, from what I have heard, the fishing goes to other ports.
Sir George Hodson said the fish were not taken at Wicklow because there were no means there of protecting large ships.
The Lord Lieutenant asked, was it not the fact that fishing smacks came into Kingstown, and would prefer to continue to do so?
Mr Chapman replied that it was true that a large proportion of fishing smacks did come into Kingstown, but he had no doubt if proper accommodation were given at Wicklow they would come there.  But, not alone was it for fishing that this accommodation was wanted, but for general mercantile purposes.  He might mention that at present there were many thousands of tons of sulphur ore lying in the yards which could not be taken away in consequence of the absence of means of shipment.

The Lord Lieutenant inquired why the the Wicklow Railway Company did not take the project up.
Mr Chapman replied that the interests of the Railway Company were opposed to Wicklow being a port at all, inasmuch as it would interfere with their receipts by reducing the mileage over which traffic was carried.

After some desultory conversation, the Lord Lieutenant said he understood from Mr Lefanu that the fund at the disposal of the Board of Works for the construction of fishery piers was reduced to £3,200, which he was afraid would not do much for Wicklow harbour from all he could learn respecting it.
Mr Byrne observed that the $14,000 already expended on the harbour had been completely lost, in consequence of the want of governmental support.  The harbour was beautifully situated.  Once the shelter was formed, the means of ingress and egress given for large ships, they were sanguine that an enormous trade would spring up.  If the fishery were once established, another trade - the construction of ships, for which timber lay in the vicinity of the harbour - would grow up, and other advantages would speedily follow.

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Part 5.

The Lord Lieutenant - Surely, if all that be true, it would be ground for a private company taking it up.  I am afraid that that not being done shows that the prospects are not very bright.
Mr Byrne remarked that no port could rise to mercantile importance unless accommodation were given for steamers to go backwards and forwards, and in this respect all the interests of Wicklow and of the fine country surrounding it had very much suffered.
The Lord Lieutenant said that he was the owner of property in an English seaport town which had gone very much to decay, until the people scraped together a sum of money, and obtained an advance from the Board of Trade, in the way he suggested to the deputation, and went to work to improve the port and harbour.  If they could not get persons to come forward and embark their money in the requisite works he was afraid that it was generally an indication that the prospect of remuneration was not tempting.  In the present instance he thought the best thing to do was to apply to the Board of Trade for an advance.  In point of fact it was a mercantile harbour they wanted, and if it was the fact that the tolls were mortgaged, it was an unfortunate day for the town, but they should fall back upon a private bill.  No doubt the improvement of the port, so as to admit large steamers, would prove a great advantage to Wicklow, but the question for him to consider was, whether he could recommend the matter to government to give a special grant for, and he was afraid that in the face of the Commissioners' report he would hardly be in a position to do so.
In reply to His Excellency, Mr Chapman said he thought the fund at the disposal of the Board of Works would do considerable service in providing a shelter for fishing smacks.
The Lord Lieutenant said that if this matter were embodied in a statement and sent to him it might form the basis for a recommendation to the Government, favourable to the views of the deputation.

The deputation then withdrew.

The Irish Times, Tuesday, February 8, 1865.

*DEFINITION of 'Lien': The legal right of a creditor to sell the collateral property of a debtor who fails to meet the obligations of a loan contract. A lien exists, for example, when an individual takes out an automobile loan.

'Lein': the legal claim of one person upon the property of another person to secure the payment of a debt or the satisfaction of an obligation.

'Lien': a right to keep possession of property belonging to another person until a debt owed by that person is discharged: "they shall be entitled to a lien on any lot sold".

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Wicklow Newsletter, Editorial, Saturday, March 2 1867.

Assizes after Assizes and Sessions after Sessions for a series of years it has been our pleasing duty to congratulate our readers on the state of our country as regards the commission of crime, and now more especially we are gratified, at the close of the Assizes, to refer to the peaceable and orderly condition of our country.  Four hours were sufficient to try all the bills sent down by the Grand Jury, and the longest term of imprisonment inflicted upon any prisoner was seven months.  The offences too were only of an ordinary character, and not such as to affect the public peace; and the insane bubble of Fenianism which has alarmed the inhabitants of other places seems to find few sympathisers amongst us, judging by the fewness of the arrests made in this county under the provisions of the Habeas Corpus Suspension Act.  These are matters for great thankfulness, and we hope that each succeeding year will only render [the people] more loyal, and that a thriving tenantry, fastened by a resident landed proprietary, may have its fruits in a people prosperous and contented.

The Telegraph In Wicklow.

Local advancement leads to general prosperity.  For this reason, we are pleased to find, the the British Electric Telegraphic Company propose to run their line of communication along the public roads between Bray and Roundwood in the county of Wicklow.  The Grand Jury at once, and very properly sanctioned, the project on the application of Mr. B. Dawson Watlock, Engineer to the Company.  We understand that all the poles have been purchased off the estate of the Earl Fitzwilliam, and that a number of local labourers will be employed in their erection.  Thus even in a preparatory degree much service is secured for the county, and at the same time a permanent institution of enlightenment* and public convenience is firmly established.  We desire for the project every possible success. 

*My italics.

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Wicklow Salmon Fishery.

Pursuant to notice, the Special Commissioners of Irish Fisheries, held a court of Inquiry at the County Court House, on 28th ult., to receive evidence relative to the defining of the mouth of the river Vartry and of its estuary, and other matters connected with the salmon fishery of this place, rendered necessary by applications made to them for that purpose.  There were present Captain Barclay, RN., Inspecting-Commander of Coast Guard; George Wynne, Esq., F. Wakefield, Esq., Dr. Halpin, Mr. W J Nolan, and the principal inhabitants of the town interested in the fisheries.  Mr Burkitt, solicitor, appeared in the interests of the fishery - John Barlow, Arthur Barlow, Michael Byrne, and the representative of a widow whose boats are licenced, were examined on oath, their united evidence went to prove that the mouth of the Vartry is its point of debouchure into the lake at Tinnakilly, and that the only available places for fishing for salmon are those hitherto used by the fishermen, namely - immediately outside the bar of Wicklow, and a pool under the vineyard - the resting places of the salmon being either near a rockbound coast where nets could not be hauled, or in a very small bay (Bride's) where the bottom was too uneven for the purpose, or as one of the witnesses rather naively remarked, where they could ''admire the salmon jumping and playing but could not catch them.'' 

Evidence was also taken as to the number of salmon taken during the last couple of years, and all witnesses concurred in stating that if the fishermen were prevented from fishing in the old ground, they could not possibly catch fish enough to enable them to pay their licence.

The Commissioners having expressed a willingness to take evidence applicable to an enquiry to be held in Dublin, on 16th inst., relative to an alteration of the closed season, Mr. W. J. Nolan having given evidence as to the peculiar nature of the river Vartry, which might be considered merely as a mountain stream, he stated that during the early part of the open season the fish were spent and useless, and similarly during the early part of the closed season the fish were in good condition, he therefore gave as his opinion that it would be for the benefit of the fishery if the closed season were extended for one month later, thus giving a relative extension to the open season.  All the fishermen present concurred in the correctness of Mr. Nolan's views, and the Commissioners promised to take this matter into their consideration when deciding on what changes would be made in the closed season of the district.

The protection of the spawning beds having been brought under consideration, and the desirability of having waterbaliffs being urged by Mr. Wakefield, the Commissioners stated that so few licences were taken out on the river, the receipts would be totally inadequate to pay a bailiff, Mr. Wynne, Mr. Wakefield, Dr. Halpin, and Mr. Burkitt replied they would subscribe to supplement whatever sum the Commissioners might allow for the purpose.  In reference to the Alkali Works on the Murrough, Mr. Wynne asked a question as to the damage likely to be done to the fish from the drainage from the works.  Mr. Burkitt stated in reply that a clause would be inserted in the lease of the ground to the Company, obliging them to send their drainage into the sea, so that no damage need be apprehended from that quarter.  The Commissioners in closing the inquiry stated that they would endeavour to give effect to the suggestions of the witnesses, and that their decision would shortly be announced.

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The Wicklow Newsletter, Saturday, March 2 1867.

Editorial

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That the noble Earl, on whose property it is intended to erect Alkali Works near this town, should consult the wishes of the inhabitants, before granting a lease to the company established to carry them on, was only to be expected from his lordship's well-known consideration for the convenience and comforts of his tenantry; and as at a public meeting of the inhabitants of Wicklow and its neighbourhood, held in the Courthouse, on Wednesday last, a resolution was adopted in favour of their erection by the majority of those assembled, we must take it that it is in accordance with the wishes of the inhabitants that the lease is to be granted, notwithstanding, that we have knowledge that many persons of wealth and property in our neighbourhood dreading the injurious effects in general produced by the fumes from smelting houses, have protested strongly against their erection.  If there is one fact, however, more than another that presses itself forcibly on our attention it is the great want of employment for our labouring population.  Our poor are very poor indeed, and the outlay of capital and thereby increase of employment which is an absolute necessity would be most beneficial.  It cannot be doubted that when one branch of industry is fairly established in a neighbourhood, others will quickly follow in its train; and should the project now proposed prosper as anticipated, it may fairly be expected that the junction of our railway and harbour by tramway, and the improvement of the harbour itself, are results that must quickly follow, while the position of the works themselves lying in a point from which the wind seldom blows towards us, and the precautions to be taken as obliged by law and otherwise, will reduce the inconvenience to a minimum.  At the same time perhaps it would be well that a clause should be inserted in the lease confining the company to the manufacture of soda cake, &c, and totally excluding the smelting of copper. 

It has been asked, and naturally too - supposing that the lease would not be granted, what would those gentlemen who now oppose it do for the benefit of the poor, or the trade of our town in lieu of the works?  We must confess, we are unable to give an answer to this inquiry, and without venturing to express any decided opinion, we cannot but hail with satisfaction any project to benefit our town, and to provide bread for the many in it who need it.


[To the right of the photo attached, taken some time in the 1890s, you can see the smoking stack of the Alkali Works on the Morrough, north of the town of Wicklow.]

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Part 1.

The Wicklow Newsletter, Saturday, March 2 1867.

Alkali Works At Wicklow.

A large and influential meeting of the inhabitants of the town and neighbourhood was, on the 27th inst., held in the Courthouse, Wicklow, relative to the establishment of Alkali Works at Wicklow.  The following attended:- Thomas Troy, Chairman, T.C., R. D. Barry, Francis Wakefield, both T.C.'s, Rev. Henry Rooke, William Magee, J.P., T.C., George Wynne, John Hayden, John Chapman, J. W. Dillon, T. Doolittle, Thomas Smyth, J. O'Brien, all T.C.'s, Robert W. Halpin, Sec. T.C., R. Caldwell, Custom House, W. Nolan and G. Halpin, M.D.'s, J. Nolan, Joseph Morton, W.J. Nolan, E. Doolittle, Harbour-master, J. Collins, J. Byrne, Stamp Office, Charles Ralph, John Arthur Travers, J. D. Smyth.

Mr. Troy having been requested to take the Chair, the Secretary read two letters from Hon. J. Ponsonby, to the Town Commissioners, on the subject of the proposed works.  The Chairman having addressed the meeting, said he was now prepared to hear any gentleman on the subject.

Mr. R. D. Barry said that he hoped that no person would impute to him any sinister motives in advocating the project, the gentlemen concerned in it were men of large property, and would lay out £10,000 at once.  He Mr. Barry, could not see how the works could injure anyone, as stringent clauses are to be inserted in the lease; and also as the owner of property in the neighbourhood he would not be likely to advocate any manufacture that would injure it, he need not go fully into the question of the manufacture of soda cake, as it is the interest of the manufacturer to turn every portion of the Sulphur Ore into profit.

Mr. Hayden, T.C., said the very explanatory letters that had just been read from the Hon. Mr. Ponsonby, and the statement made by Mr. Barry, show clearly that precautionary measures will be taken to protect the inhabitants from injury.  He Mr. Hayden cannot conceive how under the protective clauses any injury can arise, whereas the proposed works would bring capital among us, and open up a branch of manufacture hitherto unknown in Wicklow, which could be lucratively carried on in this county, instead of being diverted elsewhere, and would ultimately lead to the improvement of the harbour and extension of our quays and wharfs.  If this object alone were attained it would well be worth the trial; but further, we would have the circulation of an extra £200 to £300 a week expended in the town.  He Mr. Hayden would therefore propose that this meeting is of the opinion that Earl Fitzwilliam will best advance the interest of the inhabitants of Wicklow by granting the lease of the site for the proposed Alkali Works.