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CSO/RP/1823/1378

Petition of Michael Brew senior, Leadmore, near Kilrush, County Clare, to Richard Wellesley, 1st marquis Wellesley, Lord Lieutenant, Dublin Castle, detailing his complaints, in relation to his 80 acres of land adjacent to the site of the construction of the new fishery quay at Seafield, County Clare. States that during its construction, his land, '…was made a mere Commonage of with Men Horses Carts Drays &c In Drawing Stones and Sand all other Materials…' across it. Further complains of the refusal of the commissioners of fisheries to pay him compensation for the damage caused [annotation indicates petition was received 3 September 1823]. He encloses letter from Henry Townsend, Irish Fishery office, Dublin, secretary to the commissioners of fisheries, to Brew, informing him that his claim cannot be recognised, 21 August 1823. Also letter from Alexander Nimmo, Dublin, civil engineer superintending public works, to Henry Goulburn, Chief Secretary, Dublin Castle, reporting, as requested by government, on the matter, and denying the veracity of Brew's 'barefaced' claim, 8 September 1823.

21 Aug 1823-8 Sep 1823

1823

CSO/RP/1823/1622

Letter from Henry Townsend, Irish fishery office, Dublin, secretary to commissioners of Irish fisheries, to Henry Goulburn, Chief Secretary, Dublin Castle, concerning decision of the commissioners to divide several of the fishery districts, and requesting permission to appoint 5 additional inspectors of fisheries to fill the new posts, 25 September 1823. Also letter from Townsend, to Goulburn, requesting appointment of new inspector of fisheries at Baltimore, County Cork, vacant since the dismissal of Richard Thorpe, 25 September 1823. Also note by Chief Secretary's Office clerk concerning the salary of an inspector of fisheries [September 1823].

25 Sep 1823-[Sep 1823]

1823

CSO/RP/1823/1660

Letter from James TS Stewart, Tymore, Newport, County Mayo, to Henry Goulburn, Chief Secretary, Dublin Castle, concerning loans issued through the board of fisheries to distressed fishermen on the Mayo coast, for repair of their boats and nets. Urges that an extension is granted to the fishermen for the repayment now due, emphasising that until the herring fishery commences, they have no means of meeting the payments, 12 September 1823; with subsequent annotation by Goulburn. Also further letter from Stewart, to Goulburn, reporting on his unsuccessful application to the board of fisheries on the subject, and urging government intervention. States that if the board take legal action, then 'the object of serving these poor people will be defeated and on the Contrary [will] totally ruin them', 5 October 1823; encloses letter from Henry Townsend, Irish fishery office, Dublin, secretary to commissioners of fisheries, to Stewart, refusing his application for extension of time for repayment, 25 September 1823. Also letter from Townsend, to Goulburn, reporting, as requested, on Stewart's application, warning that such an extension would 'lay a precedent', and emphasising the stipulations set by the London Tavern Committee, who contributed to the loan fund in question, 16 October 1823.

12 Sep 1823-16 Oct 1823

1823

CSO/RP/1823/1691

File of papers relating to appointment of additional inspectors of fisheries in Ireland. Includes letter from Henry Townsend, Irish Fishery Office, Dublin, secretary to the commissioners of fisheries, to William Gregory, Under Secretary, Dublin Castle, requesting the appointment of additional inspectors at Baltimore, County Cork; Dingle, County Kerry; Clifden, County Galway; Sligo, County Sligo; and Clogher, County Antrim, 17 April 1823; with subsequent pencil annotation by CSO official, stating the name of each individual permitted to recommend a candidate for each district, for example, Lord Carbery - Baltimore; Lord Kingston - Sligo. File also includes letter from John Evans-Freke, 6th baron Carbery, Castle Freke, County Cork, to Gregory, concerning the dismissal of the local inspector of the fishery district of Glandore and Baltimore, County Cork, and also discussing plans by the board of fisheries to divide the district. Recommends Thomas Townsend for the inspectorship at Baltimore, 27 July 1823. Also includes letter from Edmund McDonnell, Glenarm Castle, County Antrim, to Henry Goulburn, Chief Secretary, Dublin Castle, recommending John McDonnell of Cushindall [Cushendall], County Antrim, for appointment as an inspector of fisheries, 1 October 1823; with subsequent annotation by Goulburn, instructing McDonnell's appointment to Clogher. File also includes series of letters from Townsend, to Goulburn, reporting on the successful completion of the entrance examination by each of the candidates - Edward Nicholson, Thomas Townsend, John McDonnell, and Lyttleton Lyster - nominated for appointment, 20 November 1823-18 December 1823. Also letter from Townsend, to Goulburn, 4 December 1823, enclosing copy of report from John Madden, inspector general of fisheries, to the commissioners of fisheries, 27 November 1823, offering assurances respecting the feasibility of appointing an inexperienced officer to the post at Clogher, 27 November 1823.

17 Apr 1823-18 Dec 1823

1823

CSO/RP/1823/2132

Letter from Henry Townsend, Irish Fishery Office, Dublin, secretary to the commissioners of Irish fisheries, to Henry Goulburn, Chief Secretary, Dublin Castle, conveying the commissioners' hopes that Goulburn will bring forward the proposed amendments to the fishery laws, and emphasising the particular importance of those clauses relating to trawling, and the bounty on the open-sea herring fishery.

29 May 1823

1823

CSO/RP/1823/2133

Letter from Henry Townsend, Irish Fishery Office, Dublin, secretary to the commissioners of Irish fisheries, to Henry Goulburn, Chief Secretary, Dublin Castle, reporting that copies of the report of the proceedings of the commissioners of Irish fisheries for the year ending 5 April 1823, have been sent to Dublin Castle, to be forwarded to the House of Commons and the House of Lords. Also mentions the additional documents and plans annexed to the copy destined for the House of Commons, including plans of the coast of Dundrum, the harbours of Killough and Ardglass, and of Strangford river, County Down.

15 May 1823

1823

CSO/RP/1823/2308

File of papers relating to legal dispute between government and William Ogilvie, regarding Ogilvie's entitlement to a castle maze [ancient herrings custom] of herrings in Ardglass harbour, County Down, and specifically, to financial compensation from the Irish fisheries board, for his relinquishing his right. File contains letters, petitions, legal case notes, legal opinions, and copy deeds, produced and sent in the course of the dispute, between 1820 and 1825. It also contains related material touching on Ogilvie's extensive works and improvements to the harbour at Ardglass at this time. In particular, it contains correspondence between Ogilvie and the Irish government, a series of copies of letters between Ogilvie, government and the commissioners of Irish fisheries on the subject, correspondence with William Kemmis, crown solicitor, Dublin, and several legal case notes, annotated with the opinions of Henry Joy, Solicitor General of Ireland, and William Conyngham Plunket, Attorney General of Ireland. An additional complication to this lengthy file is caused as a result of the various papers, and copies of those papers, being sent backwards and forwards between the Chief Secretary's Office at Dublin Castle, the Irish Office in London, Irish Fisheries Office in Dublin, and the Treasury in London, during the course of the protracted legal dispute. The file includes letter from Henry Townsend, Irish Fishery Office, Dublin, secretary to the commissioners of Irish fisheries, to William Gregory, Under Secretary, Dublin Castle, 13 June 1822, enclosing, as requested by the Lord Lieutenant, copies of 'the Correspondence on the Subject of Mr Ogilvie's Claims to Harbour dues at Ardglass': these copy letters are numbered by Townsend from 1-19, 6 April 1820-16 October 1821 [they are all present except No.7]. File also includes copy letter from Alexander Mangin, first clerk in civil department, Chief Secretary's Office, Dublin Castle, to George Harrison, Treasury Chambers, London, assistant secretary to the Lords Commissioners of the Treasury, 15 June 1823, responding, as requested, to a petition from Ogilvie, to the Lords of the Treasury, seeking remuneration in return for relinquishing his rights to a maize [sic] on herrings from every vessel fishing for herrings in Ardglass harbour; Mangin encloses a letter from Townsend, Irish Fishery Office, Dublin, to Gregory, on Ogilvie's application. Refers to the copy letters marked 'No.13' and 'No.19', [see above], noting that, 'the Commissioners of Fisheries did not at any time entertain the idea of settling by compromise the Claims of Mr Ogilvie to Harbour Dues in the Harbour of Ardglass, but that on the contrary, they distinctly declined acceding to Mr Ogilvie's proposal. The object of the Enquiry of the Commissioners was merely to ascertain their own power to resist altogether the payment of dues so Injurious to the Fisheries of Ireland', 13 June 1823. File also includes letter from Ogilvie, 12 Chester Street, Pimlico, London, to Henry Goulburn, Chief Secretary, Dublin Castle, concerning the unfavourable opinion of the Attorney General against Ogilvie's claims, and seeking to obtain a copy of his opinion. Apologies for appearing 'troublesome' on the subject, but emphasises his 'defense [sic] of a Property derived to me with an uninterrupted Possession of upwards of 100 years, and supported by the Opinions of Men of the first Eminence', 22 January 1823. Also includes letter from Ogilvie, 12 Chester Street, to Henry Goulburn, Chief Secretary, Dublin Castle, expressing his surprise that, 'the Crown Lawyers have given it as their opinion, that I have not a legal title to the Little Customs in Ardglass Harbour, of which the Duty of Castle Maize is one'; he details his title to the dues, as secured by letters patent from King Henry VIII and King Charles II, as well as being 'sanctioned by various Acts of the Irish Parliament'. Also refers to his dealings with the commissioners of Irish fisheries, and complaining of their handling of the matter, 7 March 1823. File also includes a printed statement entitled, 'The Title of William Ogilvie Esq. to the Little Customs of Ardglass Harbour, in the County of Down, Ireland; of which Little Customs, the Duty of Castle Maize and Castle Fish is the Principal', 3 April 1823. Also note from Sir Charles William Flint, Irish Office, London, under secretary of Irish Office, to Thomas Taylor, clerk, Chief Secretary's Office, Dublin Castle, 18 June 1823, enclosing a copy of a letter from Ogilvie, to Flint, concerning papers relating to his case, 18 June 1823. Flint observes that, 'This question of Castle Maize has tormented us all sadly; - and I really hope that it will be fairly submitted to the Law officers of the Crown & disposed of definitively…'. Also letter from Ogilvie, Ardglass Castle, to Goulburn, expressing regret that the crown law officers have once again rejected his legal claim to the duties. Emphasises the legal opinions he obtained which were favourable to his case, including those of Sir Henry Dampier; John Lens, King's Ancient Sergeant; and Sir Thomas Edlyne Tomlins, counsel to the Irish Office in London, 16 September 1823; with subsequent annotation by Goulburn. Also letter from Ogilvie, Gresham's Hotel, Dublin, to Goulburn, concerning his legal title to a custom of castle maize in Ardglass harbour; recalls that, 'Before the appointment of the Commissioners of Irish Fisheries, I was in quiet possession of the Custom of Castle Maize. But on their appointment, I received a Letter from them, stating that That They intended to appoint Ardglass the Rendezvous for the Herring Fishery on that Coast, if I would forbear to levy Any Harbour Dues on the Vessels employed in the Fishery - My Answer was that the Fishery Act gave me the Power to levy Harbour Dues on Vessels employed in the Herring Fishery, in the Harbour of Ardglass, for the Support of the Harbour: but that wishing to encourage the Fishery, I would forbear to levy Anchorage or any other Dues, except the custom of Castle Maize which I had appropriated to the Support of the Works - for which no Fund had been provided - But if they considered extinguishing the Custom to be essential, as an Encouragement to the Fishery, I was willing to accept a Compensation, to be applied to the same Object as the Custom, the Support of the Harbour, and adding that, in compliance with their wishes, I should suspend levying the Castle Maize, to allow them Time to examine my Titles'. Ogilvie emphasises the money that has been lost in Castle Maize over past 4 years, and he urges the Irish government to establish an equivalent fund for support of the harbour, 3 August 1824. File also includes further letter from Ogilvie, 12 Chester Street, London, to Gregory, Dublin Castle, concerning the numbers of vessels engaged in the herring fishery, that have frequented the harbour of Ardglass in the years 1821, 1822, 1823, and 1824, and referring to a proposed compromise on the subject, and his agreement to accept 'a reduced sum' on duty payable by each vessel, 'which is the sum being imposed on Vessels fishing for herrings in the opposite Harbours of the Isle of Man', 16 February 1825; he encloses a copy of the relevant legislation applied to the Isle of Man: Isle of Man Harbours Act 1814, 54 Geo III chapter 143.

27 Jul 1814-2 Mar 1825

1825

CSO/RP/1823/2428

File of papers relating to the Admiralty's concerns with the utility of local fishery surveys of Irish coast. Includes letter from John Barrow, Admiralty Office, London, second secretary to the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty, to Henry Goulburn, Chief Secretary, Dublin Castle, 5 December 1823, enclosing a copy extract of a letter from Captain White, of the surveying vessel the 'Shamrock', to Barrow, originally dated 25 November 1823, expressing his concerns with deficiencies in the fishery survey of Strangford Lough, County Down. In particular, respecting the survey's positioning of a rocky shoal known as 'Butter Pladdie' [Butter Pladdy] on the lough. States that the fishery survey has placed the rock formation 1¼ miles from its actual position. On the subject of the fishery surveys, Barrow observes that the Lords of the Admiralty have been informed, '(how truly they do not pretend to say)', that the fishery surveys have constituted 'a considerable and useless expense', and reports plans to extend the Ordnance Survey to Ireland, and to carry out, in conjunction with the Admiralty, a 'scientific maritime survey' of the whole coast. Conveys the Admiralty's proposal, therefore, that works on all local surveys of coast might be discontinued. With subsequent lengthy annotation by Goulburn. File also includes letter from Henry Townsend, Irish Fishery Office, Dublin, secretary to the commissioners of Irish fisheries, to William Gregory, Under Secretary, Dublin Castle, responding, as requested, on the objections made by the Admiralty, concerning the fishery survey of Strangford Lough, 12 February 1824; encloses a copy of a report from Alexander Nimmo, Dublin, engineer to the Irish fisheries, to Townsend, offering a detailed defence of his work, and the survey, noting that, 'my survey did not come within four Miles of the place in question. The Chart is and professes to be a Chart merely of the Entrance of Strangford Lough showing that to be a direct [,] deep, and safe passage into an excellent Harbour, instead of the Crooked and dangerous course over a rocky Shoal as laid down by Mackenzie, and implicitly relied on by all books of pilotage…'. Nimmo expresses his astonishment that a chart should be represented as a 'defect of the Survey'. He observes that Captain White, 'has been employed several years….. in making surveys on the Coast of Ireland, but as no results have yet been made public, I am unable to say how far his operations are calculated to preclude the necessity of any part of the Survey we are now carrying on'. Also highlights problems in the work of a nautical surveyor employed by the Admiralty at Dublin Bay, noting that, 'From this instance I am not disposed to place implicit reliance on a Survey merely because it has been done by a person employed by the Admiralty'; Nimmo's report originally dated 26 January 1824. Also copy of a letter from John W Croker, Admiralty office, London, first secretary to the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty, to Goulburn, acknowledging receipt of various documents on the matter. Reiterates the opinion of the Lords of the Admiralty that, irrespective of the correctness of the fishery surveys, 'it would be an unjustifiable waste of public money, to have detailed Surveys made, and charts printed, of small portions of the Coast, and on less scientific principles, when a general trigonometrical Survey of the whole is in contemplation'. Also requests that copies of all fishery survey maps be sent to the Admiralty office, 15 March 1824.

25 Nov 1823-15 Mar 1824

1824

CSO/RP/1823/2489

Letter from George Harrison, Treasury Chambers, London, assistant secretary to the Lords Commissioners of the Treasury, to Henry Goulburn, Chief Secretary of Ireland, [at Irish Office, London], 25 June 1823, enclosing a petition from the commissioners of Irish fisheries, to the Lords Commissioners of the Treasury, detailing their programme of work to create a number of small piers and landing quays on the western and southern coasts of Ireland, for the protection of fishing vessels, 'where no security existed before'. Explains the reason for the delay in their application to obtain the balance of a sum of £5,000, as granted to them by the Irish fisheries legislation 59 Geo 3 chapter 109, back in 1819. Petition signed by M FitzGerald, Henry R Paine, Major Benjamin Blake Woodward, Val O'Connor, and Thomas Macdonnell, commissioners of Irish fisheries, 29 May 1823. Harrison requests that Richard Wellesley, 1st marquis Wellesley, Lord Lieutenant, Dublin Castle, issue a warrant to the commissioners of customs, to advance the sum required from the Irish revenue funds. Also letter from Henry Townsend, Irish Fishery office, Dublin, to William Gregory, Under Secretary, Dublin Castle, referring to the Treasury's approval of the advance of the money, and requesting to know if Wellesley, has ordered the board of customs to issue the money, 17 July 1823. Also covering note dated Dublin Castle 19 July 1823, probably sent by Gregory at Dublin Castle, to Goulburn in London, forwarding the subject for his consideration; and with Goulburn's instructions on the matter annexed below.

29 May 1823-19 Jul 1823

1823

CSO/RP/1824/97

Letter from Henry Townsend, secretary, Irish Fishery Office, Dublin, to Henry Goulburn, Chief Secretary, Dublin Castle, enclosing printed copy of resolutions concerning attendance of commissioners of Irish Fisheries upon business connected with administration; with roster table of attendance for 1824.

8 Jan 1824-20 Jan 1824

1824