has been gradually concentrating itself in Belfast. The in- j troduction there in 1830, by T. and A. Mulholland, of J machinery for the spinning of linen yarn, was followed by a rapid extension of the industry, and in 1811 there were 2 iO,000 spindles at work. The succeeding ten years showed still greater increase. In 1851 there were 561,000 spindles in operation throughout Ireland, 630,000 in 1861, and 903,000 in 1871, of which about four-fifths had been set up in Belfast. Linen yarns from Belfast form a consider able item in the total export of manufactures. For some time after the trade was started, the average annual export was only about 1,000,000 ft weight; but in 1850 five times that quantity was despatched; in 1862, 15,685,600 Ib, and
in 1864, 24,075,520 ft.The weaving of linen by means of power-looms, though long carried on in Dundee, Leeds, and other great seats of manufacture, is of comparatively recent introduction into Belfast, being hardly known there five-and-twenty years ago. In 1859, however, there were 3000 looms engaged ; in 1866 there were 10,500, and that number has now (1875) increased to about 12,500. A number of these have been fitted up for the damask trade, but the great proportion are used for plain linens, " sets " of which of great fineness are worked. The extent of the linen trade may be indicated by the number of persons employed, which amounted in 1871 to 8507, or about 5 per cent, of the population.
Cotton-spinning, which at one period formed a most extensive industry in Belfast, has greatly fallen off, nearly all the mills having been converted to the spinning of flax.
The enterprise of the citizens of Belfast was well sup ported by the liberal system of tenure for building purposes granted by the late Lord Donegall and his predecessors. Sites for mills, factories, and other public works were obtained on very reasonable terms, and for all religious and charitable objects those lords of the soil bestowed ground free of rent. In 1851 the places of worship in Belfast open for service belonged 11 to the Episcopalians, 21 to Presbyterians, 8 to Wesleyans, and 4 to Roman Catholics. Since then there has been a large increase in the number ; and there are now 19 Episcopalian churches, 28 Presby terian, 16 Wesleyan Methodist, 6 Roman Catholic, 3 Unitarian, and 7 or 8 belonging to various other sects.
The River Lagan is crossed by three bridges, of which the principal is the Queen s Bridge, opened in January 18i3, and built on the site of the Old Long Bridge, which d:ited from 1686. Like most modern towns which have r.xpidly risen through commerce and manufactures, Belfast cannot boast of many architectural beauties. It would seem as if its people had been too deeply absorbed in the bustle of business to think of aesthetic superfluities. More recently, however, a higher style of building has been adopted ; and some of the warehouses and shops show great taste in design and finish of workmanship.
The public buildings most worthy of notice are the White and Brown Linen Halls, the Corn Exchange, the Commercial Buildings, the Museum, the Albert memorial monument, the Northern, Belfast, Ulster, and Provincial Banks, the new theatre, the town-hall, and the range of buildings containing the offices for the customs, the inland revenue, and the postal departments. The county lunatic asylum is in the suburbs of the town ; and in the neigh bourhood of Queen s College there is an extensive and well- kept botanic garden.
The chief educational establishments are the Royal Academical Institution, the Queen s College (built of brick in the Tudor style and opened in 1849), the Government School of Design, the General Assembly s College, the Catholic Institute, and the Wesleyan Institute ; and alto gether, in proportion to its extent, no town in the king dom is better supplied with educational appliances than Belfast.
Belfast is governed by a corporation of 40 members a mayor, 10 aldermen, and 29 councillors ; and all matters connected with the docks and shipping are under the harbour commissioners, an important body elected by the ratepayers. The borough returns two members to par liament, and the county assizes are held there, as well as the quarter sessions, recorder s court, and petty sessions.
BELFORT, Béfort, or Bedfort, a second-class fortified town of France, was formerly in the department of Upper Rhine, and capital of an arrondissement ; but since the peace of 1871, it has given name to a separate territory not as yet incorporated with any department. It is situated on the left bank of the Sauvoureuse, 38 miles S.S.W. of Colmar, at the intersection of several important roads and railways, by which it maintains a considerable trade with Germany and Switzerland. It contains a handsome church, - St Cristophe, erected in the 18th century, a college, a large public library, a synagogue, a theatre, and an hospital. There are several iron foundries, and iron-wire and tin-plate factories ; and the manufacture of hats and leather is also carried on. Belfort, however, derives its chief importance from the citadel and entrenched camp, which render it one of the most valuable military posts on the French frontier, defending as they do the entrance into the country through the opening between the Vosges and the Jura. The citadel dates from the 13th century, and the town itself was first regularly fortified in 1688 by Yauban. In November 1870 siege was laid to the place by the German forces, but the French garrison managed to hold out till the 16th of- February 1871, when they capitulated with the sanction of the Government, and marched out with the honours of war. The conquerors finally evacuated the place in July 1871. At the census of 1872 the population of the town was found to be 8014.
Bombay Presidency, extending from 15 30 to 16 15 N. lat,, and 74 to 76 D 30 E. long. It is bounded on the N. by the state of Miraj, on the N.E. by the Raladgi collecto- rate, on the E. by the states of Jamkhandi and Mudhol, on the S. by the collectorates of Dharwar and Kanara, on the S.W. by the Portuguese territory of Goa, and on the W. by the states of Sawantwari and Kolhapur. The principal rivers, none of which are navigable, are the Krishna, flowing through the northern ; the Ghataprabha, through the centre ; and the Malaprabha, through the southern portion of the collectorate. To the N. and E. the country is open and well cultivated, but to the S. it is intersected by spurs of the Sahyadri range, thickly covered in some places with forest. Area, 4591 square miles. Population, 938,750 souls, or 204 to the square mile; 57 per cent. Hindus, 7 - 5 per cent. Mahometans, 5 per cent. Buddhists, 5 Christians, and 01 Parsis. Marathi and Kanarese are both spoken, the former chiefly in the W. and S. of the district, and the latter in the N. and E. The chief occu pation of the people is agriculture, the other industries being spinning and weaving, manufactures in wood and metals, pottery, and shoemaking. There is also a consider able trade in cloth and silk. The principal agricultural products are rice, tawari, ragi, wheat, bajra, sugar-cane, barley, and pulses. Tobacco is cultivated to a small-extent. The entire revenue of the district amounts to 233,371, of which 179,321 is derived from the land revenue, and 17,597 from the local fund cess. Of the remainder 15,444 is derived from stamps, 14,996 from excise, assessed taxes yield 2344, and forests 3669. Of a total area of 4591 square miles, 1894 63 square miles are re
turned as cultivable, and 17297, or 37 percent, of the