The million-peopled city
Garwood, John
1853
Remarkable Increase of Population in Ireland during the close of the 18th and the commencement of the 19th Centuries.
The degree of prosperity to which attained during the last half of the 18th century is, however, worthy of notice. England, Wales, and Scotland, did none of them make such rapid strides in population as did , with all her oppression. From the returns of the hearth-money collectors, , in , contained but 2,372,634 persons. In , Mr. Bushe's estimate of the population was 4,040,000; and in , the hearth-money collectors returned it at 4,206,612. In the year of the Union it was estimated at about 5,000,000. | |
Since then, till recently, the numbers continued to increase with great rapidity. The first regular census of the popula- tion was taken in , when it amounted to 6,801,827. In this was increased to 7,767,401. And in it had reached 8,175,124. is a mere trifle smaller,[1] but had only 2,620,184 people. In there were only | |
256 | 89 people to the square mile, but in there were 252. |
So very rapid an increase in population illustrates the capabilities of the country and the people. But the failure of the potato crop and emigration have of late years fearfully thinned them, and brought over an immense number of Irish to our shores, and especially to London, Liverpool, and Bristol. | |
Footnotes: [1] The relative number of square miles in Scotland and Ireland is 29,6C0 and 32,000. |