596 



NEWFOUNDLAND. 



sidies for steam communication, ocean and coast- 

 wise in 1890 amounted to $157,055. 



Industries. In 1890 there were in the island 

 55 saw mills, 4 tanneries, 6 iron foundries, 7 fur- 

 niture factories, and 95 other factories. 



Fish Culture The artificial propagation of 

 codfish and lobsters, on a large scale, was carried 

 on under Adolph Nielsen, Superintendent of 

 Fisheries, in 1890. In the hatchery at Dildo Isl- 

 and, Trinity Bay, 17,000,000 cod were hatched 

 and planted in the waters of the bay, and 15,- 

 000,000 lobsters. In addition 432 floating incu- 

 bators were distributed at 14 different stations 

 throughout the island ; and in these 390,934,500 

 lobsters were hatched and planted. The whole 

 number of lobster ova hatched in the summer of 

 1890 was 406,005,300. This is by far the greatest 

 success ever reached in the artificial propagation 

 of lobsters. 



Newspapers. In 1890 three daily papers 

 were published in St. John's, two bi-weekly and 

 one weekly ; in Harbor Grace, one bi-weekly ; 

 and in Trinity and Twillingate, one weekly. 



Government. In 1890 there were 18 electoral 

 districts, sending 36 members to the House of 

 Assembly. They are elected every four years by 

 the people, manhood suffrage being now estab- 

 lished. The Legislative Council consists of 15 

 members, who are nominated by the Governor 

 in Council, and hold office for life. The mem- 

 bers of both branches of the Legislature are paid. 

 The country has enjoyed "responsible govern- 

 ment " since 1855. By its provisions the party 

 that are sustained by a majority in the Legisla- 



ture have at their disposal the appointments to 

 the principal offices in the colony. 



Political. In June, 1887, Sir G. W. Des 

 Voeux, who was then Governor, was appointed 

 by the Imperial Government as Governor of 

 Hong-Kong. He was succeeded by Sir Henry 

 Blake, who remained until November, 1888, when 

 he was appointed Governor of Jamaica. His 

 successor was Sir Terence N. O'Brien, the present 

 Governor. 



In November, 1889, a general election took 

 place. For the first time the voting was accord- 

 ing to manhood suffrage and by ballot. The re- 

 sult was that the party led by Sir Robert Thor- 

 burn, who had been Premier since 1885, was de- 

 feated, and Sir William Whiteway was called on, 

 as Premier, to form a government. Fresh 

 troubles arose in 1888 in connection with the 

 "French shore question, "and are still unsettled. 

 By certain ancient treaties the French enjoy 

 rights of fishing and drying fish on the western 

 and northern coasts of the island. For a long 

 time a difference of opinion existed between the 

 two nations as to the proper interpretation of 

 those treaties. The French have long contended 

 that the treaties gave them an exclusive right to 

 the fisheries along this portion of the coast. 

 British statesmen have always refused to admit 

 such a claim, and have contended that British 

 subjects have a concurrent right of fishing there, 

 provided they did not "interrupt" the fishing 

 operations of the French. All attempts to settle 

 this difficulty and arrive at a common under- 

 standing have hitherto failed. The colonists 

 bitterly complain of the injustice and hardships 

 they have long suffered through the persistent 

 claims of the French, which have practically ex- 

 cluded them from the better half of the island. 

 At present only 8 or 10 French vessels visit 

 that extent of coast. Vexatious quarrels occur 

 constantly and endanger the peace of the two 



