20 THE HOME, FA KM AND BUSINESS CYCLOPEDIA. 



Every year large numbers of immigrants settle in Ontario, and in addition 

 to the Dominion immigration agencies, there is also a provincial immigra- 

 tion office in Toronto. The existence of Ontario as the old province of 

 Upper Canada begins at 1791, previous to which it formed part of the 

 province of Quebec. Major-General J. G. Simcoe, was the first lieutenant- 

 governor ; and the first parliament met at Niagara on September 17th, 

 1792. In 1820 political dissentions arose in Lower Canada, which opened 

 a gulf between the French and the English colonies. In 1837 the discon- 

 tent took another form, and broke forth in rebellion. In 1841, a union 

 between Ontario and Quebec, then known as Upper and Lower Canada, 

 was again effected, and this union stood tiil 18G7, when both the provin- 

 ces were merged into confederation. The legislative machinery of the 

 province consists of a lieutenant-governor, an executive council of five 

 members, and a legislative assembly of eight elected every four years. 



QUEBEC. 



This province is bounded on the north by Labrador and Hudson's Bay ; 

 on the east by Labrador and the Gulf of St. Lawrence ; on the South 

 by Baie des Chaleurs, New Brunswick and the State of Maine ; on the 

 south-east by New Hampshire, Vermont and New York, and on the south- 

 west by the river Ottawa and the province of Ontario. Its length from 

 Lake Temiscamingue to Anse au Blanc Sablon, in the Strait of Belle 

 Isle, is about 1,000 miles and from the above-named lake to Cape Gaspe* 

 is about 700 miles ; breadth about 300 miles ; giving a total area in land 

 and water of about 193,300 square miles. The surface of the country 

 consists of boundless forests, great rivers and lakes, considerable prairie 

 stretches, bold rocky heights and the clear-spots of civilization. The 

 principal mountain ranges are the Notre Dame and Green Mountains, 

 which stretch in parallel lines from S. W. to N. E. The rocky masses 

 connected with the mountain chain that line the St. Lawrence advance in 

 many places close to the river and form precipitous cliffs from 200 to 300 

 feet high. The province is richly endowed with mines of gold, copper, 

 iron and other ores. Gold is found chiefly on the banks of the Chaudiere. 

 Copper is found in large quantities in the eastern townships. Iron is 

 found in several districts, and it is almost entirely free from phosphorus. 

 Lead, silver, zinc, platinum, &c., also occur in various sections of the pro- 

 vince. The St. Lawrence flows through Quebec, receiving just above 

 Montreal the Ottawa, a river 800 miles long. Below Montreal, on the 

 right, it receives the Richelieu river which has its origin in Lake Cham- 



