 |
| PORTLAW, COUNTY WATERFORD.- The above village, situated near the baronial demesne of Curraghmore-the county seat of the Marquis of Waterford in the county of that name-is one of the few manufacturing towns of Ireland in which the production of cotton fabircs has been successfully undertaken. Although the volume of trade is not great, still the town itself, and the country in its neighborhood, show evidences of more than ordinary thrift and prosperity-another argument in favor of encouraging home industries in Ireland. The first cotton mills were erected in Portlaw in 1818 by the Messrs. Malcolmson, of Clonmel, energetic and philanthropic members of the Society of Friends, otherwise Quakers. They were determined, in spite of public apathy and previous unfavorable legislation, to find out for themselves whether the Irish people could or could not conquer unfortunate circumstances and surroundings in the matter of making native manufacturein a success. Had not the great famine of 1847 intervened, their example would, no doubt, have been imitated by other Irish capitalists. As it turned out, the Malcolmsons, first in the field, achieved a respectable measure of success, and Portlaw has to thank them, mainly, for such limited prosperity as it still enjoys. |
 |  |