CANADA. 



93 



For this purpose he had procured the repeal of 

 a large number of obsolete laws, the more ex- 

 tended application of the divorce bills, and the 

 extension of education. 



CANADA, and BRITISH AMERICA. The 

 British possessions in North America embrace 

 all that portion of the continent, except Rus- 

 sian America in the N. W., lying north of the 

 line of 49 N. latitude ; thence following Rainy 

 River and Lake to Lake Superior, thence follow- 

 ing the centre of^ake Superior, Huron, St. Clair, 

 Erie and Ontario and the St. Lawrence to the 

 45th parallel, which it maintains to the Con- 

 necticut River, where it follows the crest of the 

 Highlands, and the circuitous N. E. boundary 

 of theAshburton treaty, to the mouth of the 

 St. Croix River. Of this vast territory only a 

 small portion, including the tract lying along 

 the St. Lawrence, and extending from 30 to 

 120 miles north of that river, and of Lakes Erie 

 and Ontario, portions of New Brunswick, Nova 

 Scotia, and Prince Edward's Island, the coasts 

 of Newfoundland, a few settlements on Van- 

 couver's Island, and some scattered forts, &c., 

 in British Columbia, is inhabited. The remain- 

 der is as yet a wilderness, much of it cold and 

 sterile, though some portions, such as for in- 

 stance the basis of the Red River of the North, 

 have a fertile soil, though but a brief summer. 

 Canada, which is a government by itself, and 

 under a Governor-General, is the largest and 

 most important of the North American pos- 

 sessions of Great Britain. It is divided into an 

 Upper and Lower province, or as they are often 

 called, Canada West and Canada East. In the 

 former a majority of the population are of 

 British origin, and of the Protestant religion ; 

 in the latter the majority are of French origin, 

 and the Catholic faith. Upper Canada is di- 

 vided into 44 counties, having in 1861 a popu- 

 ation of 1,395,222 inhabitants, a gain of 443,218 

 since 1851. Its principal cities were Toronto, 

 with 44,743 inhabitants; Hamilton, 19,096; 

 Ottawa, the new capital, 14,669; Kingston, 

 13,743; and London, 11,555. 



Lower Canada has 60 counties, which in 1861 

 had 1,106,666 inhabitants, a gain since 1851 of 

 216,405. Its principal cities and towns are 

 Montreal, with a population of 90.498 ; Quebec, 

 with 51,108 ; Three Rivers, 6,028 ; and Sher- 

 broke, 5,899. The total population of Canada 

 was in 1861, 2,501,888. New Brunswick had 

 a population of 233,727 ; Nova Scotia, 330,699 ; 

 Prince Edward's Island, 80,648, and Newfound- 

 land 124,608, making a grand total of 3,271,570. 

 The returns of British Columbia and Van- 

 couver's Island had not been received, but 

 would not probably vary the result more than 

 from 40,000 to 50,000. 



The exports of Canada of wheat, flour, corn, 

 and other agricultural products, timber, lumber, 

 and animals, were in 1861 $34,717,248, of 

 which $14,386,427 came to the United States. 

 The imports from the United States for the 

 same year, consisting mainly of cotton, woollen 

 goods, silks, satins, velvets, iron and hardware 



of all kinds, earthen and glass ware, and fancy 

 goods, amounted to $21,069,388, yielding a 

 customs revenue of $1,584,892. The total im- 

 ports of the year were $43,054,836, and the 

 total customs revenue $4,768,192. The fin- 

 ances of Canada were not in a desirable con- 

 dition. The total government expenditure for 

 the year 1861 was $14,742,834 28, and the total 

 receipts (including $2,764,002 58 bonds issued) 

 $12,655,581 48, showing a deficit of $2,087,252 

 80 still to be met. In December, 1861, the 

 Government debt, aside from the above deficit, 

 was $65,626,478 less the amount of the imperial 

 sinking fund, $7,300,000, giving a net indebted- 

 ness of $58,326,478. A large proportion of this 

 debt,as well as a very considerable additional one 

 for English subscriptions to the same enterprise, 

 has accrued from the immense expenditure for 

 railroad construction, far in advance of the 

 means of the colonies, or their capacity for 

 profitable traffic. The cost of the new par- 

 liament buildings, now in course of erection at 

 Ottawa, which is to be the capital of the pro- 

 vinces after 1865, amounting on the 1st of 

 January, 1862, to $2,603,410 67, has also been 

 a heavy addition to the expenditure of the 

 Government. In addition to these, the efforts 

 made to arm and equip a militia force for the 

 defence of Canada against a professed danger of 

 invasion from the United States, produced a 

 heavy expenditure, most of which, however, 

 would come into the exhibit of 1862. 



The census of 1861 indicates material pro- 

 gress in Canada, both in population and in 

 material wealth. The growth of the Upper 

 Province or Canada "West, in the decade has 

 been 46.55 per cent. ; of the Lower Province 

 (Canada East) 24.31 per cent. 



The following table gives the origin of the 

 population as ascertained by the census : 



The statistics of the religious denominations 



