284 J. G. BOUEINOT 



coal mines of Cape Breton have so far monopolized what capital and enterprise have been 

 directed to the island, but attention is now being gradually given to the other mineral 

 and natural riches it possesses. The gypsum is of excellent quality, and found at Mabou, 

 Bedeque and other places in large deposits. Copper is being mined in the neighbourhood 

 of Sydney, and good indications of iron are traced both in Cape Breton and Inverness 

 counties. The Marbie Mountain at West Bay, one of the picturesque inlets of the Bras 

 d'Or lake, has long attracted notice, but it is only now that an organized effort is being 

 made to develop this remarkable illustration of nature's handiwork. The deposit is 

 exceedingly extensive, and the marble is described as of the finest quality, " the white 

 being pronounced by experts equal to the best Italian for statuary, while the colored and 

 mottled varieties are very beautiful." ' As a matter of fact, the actual extent and A^alue 

 of the mineral wealth of the island have hardly yet been fully investigated. Nova Scotia 

 and British Cohxmbia, as the two extremes of the Dominion, must sooner or later be 

 among the largest contributors to the wealth of Canada ; and it is safe to say that no sec- 

 tion of the former province is so rich in mineral resources as the island of Cape Breton, 

 whose magnificent water facilities give it a decided vantage-ground, so far as shipment 

 of all heavy products like coal, copper, iron, gypsum and marble is concerned.- The trade 

 returns of the two principal ports of Sydney and North vSyduey, for the fiscal year ending 

 on the 30th of June, 1890, showed that thirteen hundred foreign vessels, representing a 

 total tonnage of 405,937 tons, largely made up of steamers, cleared and entered, against 

 448 vessels in 179*7-98, with an aggregate tonnage of 19,770 tons. The fisheries of the 

 island now employ between 100 and 150 vessels, upwards of 4,000 boats and over 10,000 

 men, with an annual catch valued at over a million and a half of dollars ; but in this par- 

 ticular Cape Breton does not show as much enterprise and energy as some ports in west- 

 ern Nova Scotia, owing to a want of sufficient capital in this great branch of industry, for 

 whose successful prosecution the island, by its geographical situation, is specially adapted. 

 Once famous Louisbourg, which formerly employed in the fisheries about a hundred 

 vessels and boats and a thousand men, with an annual catch estimated at sixty thousand 

 quintals of cod, now only owns at most forty boats, employing about 120 men, while the 

 value of all fish products does not exceed twenty thousand dollars. 



In the course of time the island was divided into four electoral districts, named 

 counties — the township system, which gave Sydney one representative for years, 

 being eventually abolished. These counties are Cape Breton, which includes the old 

 township of Sydney ; Victoria, so called in honour of the sovereign ; Richmond, in memory 



opening up of an extensive trade witli the country on the St. Lawrence, tlie intercolonial trade has steadily 

 increased, as tlie fore^'oing figures for Qiieljec sliow. Out of the total sales of tlie Nova Scotia mines in 1890, 1,519,684 

 tons, the United States took only 7;>,892 tons. Spoaliing generally the coals of Cape Breton are bituminous and 

 coking ; many of the seams yield large volumes of gas of good quality ; for domestic purposes they are everywhere 

 acceptable, as they kiudle readily and leave little ash. For marine and railway steam-raising they compare 

 favourably with any foreign competitor. 



' Mr. E. Gilpin in his annual report on the Mines of Nova Scotia for 1890, p. 48. 



''■ The eminent geologist, Sir William Dawson, in a recent debate on the Mines of Cape Breton (see Trans, of 

 Can. Soc. of Min. Engineers, Montreal, 1888, p. 35) expressed the opinion that "mining was only beginning to be 

 developed, and he had no doubt tliat the time would come when Nova Scotia and Cape Breton would become the 

 England of tho Dominion and great centres of population. Mining and minerals, unless a great change took 

 place, would undoubtedly form the basis of the wealth of the Dominion, and determine the position of the great 

 cities of the future." 



