80 



BRITISH NORTH AMERICA. 



of the average yield of gold to the ton of quartz 

 of about five per cent., and a very considerable 

 advance in the amount of the yield for each man 

 engaged in mining. The value of gold pro- 

 duced in 1865 was $509,080 (paying $18,038 

 in rents and royalties) ; in 1864, $400,440 ; in 

 1863, $280,020, and in 1862, $145,500. 



The Coal-Fields of Nova Scotia. The most 

 important coal-fields of this province are in 

 Cumberland County, lying in the immediate 

 vicinity of the Bay of Mines ; those upon the 

 Gulf of St. Lawrence, of which Pictou is the 

 centre ; and those of the eastern part of Cape 

 Breton, contiguous to the harbor of Sydney. 

 The Cumberland coal-fields have been but 

 slightly worked, the largest veins being some 

 twelve miles' distance from navigable wate/s. 

 At Pictou, the coal-fields lie immediately upon 

 tide-water. One of the veins has a thickness 

 of 36 feet, more than 26 feet of workable coal. 

 The deposits near Sydney have been found to 

 underlie 250 square miles, an area nearly equal 

 to the entire workable area of the anthracite 

 coal-fields of Pennsylvania. An excellent har- 

 bor is contiguous to them, with which the more 

 important veins will soon be connected by rail- 

 way. As soon as the necessary works can be 

 completed, the supply from the above-mentioned 

 mines can be made equal to any possible de- 

 mand. It is estimated that 50,000,000 tons of 

 coal can be raised from them without going 

 below water-level. There are several other de- 

 posits in Cape Breton, which have been only 

 slightly worked. The following statements, 

 taken from Mr. Taylor's special report to the 

 United States Treasury Department (from 

 which the facts above given have been gath- 

 ered) show the amount of coal raised and sent 

 to market from Nova Scotia for ten years, up 

 to the end of 1865 : 



In reference to the subject of coal-mining 

 the chief Commissioner of Mines, Mr. Hamilton, 

 says : " There are now 30 collieries in operation 

 in Nova Scotia. Some of these are only barely 

 opened, but, with one or two exceptions, works 

 are vigorously prosecuted in all of them, and 

 with good prospects of great and early extension 

 at an early day. In addition to the territory 

 of the General Mining Association, there are 

 now 31 square miles of territory under coal-min- 

 ing leases. The extent of acres under license 

 amounts to 1,920 square miles. The spirit and 

 activity exhibited in carrying on explorations 

 upon the greater number of these areas under 

 license, and the success which, in many in- 

 stances, attends such explorations, indicate an 

 early and important increase in the number of 

 collieries in Nova Scotia." 



Immigration. The total immigration into 

 Canada, in 1865, at all points, with an approxi- 

 mate estimate of the distribution of the imrni 

 grants, is reported as follows : 



Landed at Quebec in 1865, 19,795 steerage 

 passengers, of whom there remained in 

 Canada 4,577 



Arrived in Canada from the States, by Sus- 

 pension Bridge and Detroit, as per return 

 of Hamilton Agent, 25,748, of whom there 

 remained in Canada 11,276 



By steamers on Lake Ontario, from Eoches- 

 ter and Oswego, as per return of Toronto 

 Agent 68 



By steamers from Oswego and Cape St. Vin- . 

 cent, as per return of Kingston Agent 1,446 



Number who reached the Ottawa Agency, as 

 per return of Mr. "Wells 193 



By Lake Champlain to Montreal, as ner return 

 of Mr. Daley 624 



By steamers from Portland, from 1st January 

 to 27th April 610 



By steamers from Portland, from 23d Novem- 

 ber to 31st December. . . l'J4 



Total remaining in Canada 18,958 



Of which number about 16,000 appear to have 

 settled in Upper Canada, and the remainder 

 in Lower Canada. 



Commercial. The Montreal Gazette gives 

 a comparative statement of the imports and ex- 

 ports from that port for the years 1865 and 

 1866, as follows: 



The Montreal Gazette gives the following as 

 the amount of produce shipped from Portland 

 into various provincial ports since the abroga- 

 tion of the reciprocity treaty up to December 

 31, 1866: 



The Gazette adds that no return has yet 

 been made of the quantity of flour shipped by 

 way of the St. Lawrence, but 300,000 barrels is 

 not too large an estimate for the quantity ship- 



?ed to the lower Provinces from Canada direct, 

 'his would be about two-fifths of the average 

 annual exports of Canadian flour to the United 

 States during the time that the treaty was in 

 force. The Gazette maintains that, as regards 

 breadstuffs at least, Canada has not suffered by 

 the abrogation of the treaty. 



