NEWFOUNDLAND. 



595 



a Board of Fishery Commissioners to superintend 

 ail matters connected with the preservation and 

 development of the fisheries, and the fishery in- 

 terests of the colony. 



The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals act of 

 1889 provides that any one convicted of ill-treat- 

 ing a domestic animal shall pay a penalty not 

 exceeding $25. 



During the session of 1890 acts were passed 

 to provide for the local government of towns and 

 settlements, for the registration of births, mar- 

 riages, and deaths, for the encouragement of 

 paper-pulp factories, also to encourage the 

 growth of flax and hemp, and the manufacture 

 of fish glue, isinglass, and gelatin. 



Education. Education continues to be con- 

 ducted on the separate or denominational prin- 

 ciple. But of the grant from the public funds for 

 educational purposes, each religious denomina- 

 tion receives a share in proportion to its num- 

 bers. There are three superintendents of educa- 

 tion one for Church of England schools, one 

 for Roman Catholic schools, and one for Metho- 

 dist schools. The Education act of 1887 con- 

 solidated previous acts, increased and readjusted 

 allocations according to relative population, and 

 provided an annual allowance of $480 for the in- 

 stitution of a scholarship in the London Univer- 

 sity, to be open to competition from the colony. 

 St. John's is made a center of the London Uni- 

 versity, so that pupils can there prepare for and 

 pass the matriculation examinations. 



Pupil teachers are trained in the academies. 

 In 1890 there were 548 elementary schools, of 

 which 197 belonged to the Church 'of England, 

 207 to the Roman Catholic Church, and 135 to 

 the Methodist Church. The total number of 

 pupils in these schools was 31,422; of these pu- 

 pils, 11,783 belonged to the Church of England, 

 11.914 to the Roman Catholic Church, 7,640 to 

 the Methodist Church, and 83 to the Congrega- 

 tional Church. The total number of pupils in 

 the colleges, academies, and grammar schools was 

 969. The total number of pupils in colleges, 

 academies, and common schools was 32,391 ; or 

 1 in 6*14 of the population. 



The advance in education maybe seen by com- 

 paring with the foregoing the returns in 1881. 

 At that date there were 4J8 elementary schools, 

 having 24,292 pupils; in the colleges, acade- 

 mies, and grammar schools there were 64 pupils ; 

 and the total number of pupils was 24,971, or 

 about 1 in 7 of the population. There has al- 

 so been a marked advance in the quality of the 

 education, in the qualifications of the teachers, 

 and in the character and equipment of school 

 buildings. The higher education is also receiv- 

 ing more attention in recent years. Separate 

 boards of education in the districts have charge 

 cf the schools. The annual grant by the Legisla- 

 ture for educational purposes is $118,795. 



Railways. The railway from St. John's to 

 Harbor Grace was opened in 1884. Its length 

 is 8(1 miles. A new branch railway from Whit- 

 bourne Junction to Placentia, 26 miles, was 

 opened in 1888. In 1889 and 1890 acts were 

 passed to provide for the construction of a rail- 

 way toward Hall's Bay, with a branch to Brigus 

 or Clarke's Beach, authorizing a loan of $4,500,- 

 000 at 3i per cent., and providing for the accept- 

 ance of a tender for construction. The tender 



of Messrs. Reid & Middleton was accepted, and 

 the work was begun in October, 1890. 



The Fisheries. The staple industry of New- 

 foundland, on which the great bulk of 'the pop- 

 ulation are dependent, is fishing. The cod fish- 

 ery is by far the most important. It is carried 

 on around the shores of the island, in Labrador, 

 and on the Banks. The following figures show 

 the export of codfish, together with the value 

 in the years named : 



The Bank fishery has increased rapidly within 

 the past four years, and now employs about 450 

 vessels and more than 4,000 men. The shore 

 fishery has declined. 



In 1887 the number of seals taken was 230,- 

 355; in 1888, it was 286,464; in 1889, it was 

 207,084. 



The export of lobsters was as follows: In 

 1887, 2.097,092 pounds ; in 1888, 3,360,672 pounds; 

 in 1889, 4,003,561 pounds. The number of lob- 

 ster-canning factories in 1890 was 200. 



The annual value of the herring and salmon 

 fisheries is, respectively, about $350.000 and 

 $100,000. The total value of the fisheries in 

 1889 was $6,371,304. The total number of per- 

 sons engaged in fishing and curing fish in 1890 

 was 60.000, the number of able-bodied fisher- 

 men 37,000. 



Agriculture. According to the last census 

 (1884), there are 46,996 acres of land under culti- 

 vation. Number of cows, 19,886 ; of horses, 5,536 ; 

 of sheep, 40,326 ; of swine, 21,555. Number of 

 bushels of oats raised, 5,393; barrels of pota- 

 toes, 302,649 ; of turnips, 24,006 ; butter, pounds, 

 247,064 ; tons of hay cut, 28,312 in the year 1884. 

 A successful agricultural exhibition was held in 

 St. John's in October, 1890. 



Trade. The trade for three years has been as 

 follows: 



Finances. The revenue in three years was : 

 In 1887, $1,272.600; in 1888, $1,370,029; in 1889, 

 $1,362,893. The public debt in the same years 

 was: In 1887, $3.005,040; in 1888, $3.335,589; 

 in 1889, $4,133,202. The amount of debt per 

 head of the entire population is $19.69. The in- 

 terest on the public debt in 1890 was $202,914. 



Population. The census of 1884 showed 

 that the population of Newfoundland and Lab- 

 rador was 197,589. Of these, 99,344 were males 

 and 93,780 females. Of the entire number, 69,- 

 000 belonged to the Church of England, 75,254 

 to the Roman Catholic Church, 48.767 to the 

 Methodist Church, 1,495 to the Presbyterian 

 Church, and 1,470 to the other denominations. 



In 1874 the population was 161,374. The in- 

 crease in the decade 1874-'84 was 36,209, or 

 22-43 per cent. 



Shipping. The registered shipping in 1889 

 was: Vessels, 2.172; tonnage, C3,992. The sub- 



