THE CENTURY BOOK OF FACTS. 



lative Council of Nova Scotia number 21, and Quebec 24. 

 The membership of the Legislative Assemblies are : 

 Prince Edward Island 30, Nova Scotia 38, New Bruns- 

 wick 41. Quebec 73, Ontario 94, Manitoba 40, British 

 Columbia 33, and the North-West Territories 26. The 

 North-West Territories are presided over by a Lieu- 

 tenant Governor and a Legislative Assembly. The Ex- 

 ecutive Council consists (since October 1, 1897) of the 

 Lieutenant Governor and five members, elected, as such, 

 by the people. 



Instruction. All the provinces of the Dominion 

 have one or more universities, and several colleges 

 which prepare for university degrees. There are in all 

 about 16 degree-granting bodies in the Dominion, with 

 about 24 colleges, including denominational, medical, 

 and other special institutions. From special official 

 statistics of these institutions it may be estimated that 

 they are attended by about 13,000 students, and their 

 total annual expenditure is upwards of $700,000, while 

 the estimated value of their endowments, buildings, 

 land, etc., is over $16,000,000. 



The expenditure for the year on public and high 

 schools, including Government grants, was over 10,- 

 000,000. The supervision of education is under the 

 control of the Governments of the several provinces, 

 and the systems in use vary somewhat, but are all based 

 on the principle of free education, the funds being sup- 

 plied in nearly all the provinces by Government grants 

 and local taxation. In British Columbia and the North- 

 West Territories the schools are supported wholly by 

 Government. Education is more or less compulsory 

 in all the provinces, but the law is not very strictly 

 enforced. In Ontario, Quebec, and the North-West 

 Territories there are separate schools for Roman Catho- 

 lics ; in the other provinces the schools are unsectarian. 

 Separate schools in Manitoba were abolished by a Pro- 

 vincial Act passed in 1890. 



Justice. There is a Supreme Court in Ottawa, hav- 

 ing appellate, civil, and criminal jurisdiction in and 

 throughout Canada. There is also an exchequer court, 

 which is also a colonial court of admiralty, with powers 

 as provided in the Imperial " Colonial Courts of Admi- 

 ralty Act, 1890." There is a Superior Court in each prov- 

 ince; county courts, with limited jurisdiction, in most 

 of the provinces; all the judges in these courts being 

 appointed by the Governor (General . Police magistrates 

 and justices of the peace are appointed by the Provincial 

 Governments. 



Religion. There is no State Church in the whole of 

 British North America. The Church of England is gov- 

 erned by twenty bishops, with about 1,000 clergy; the 

 Roman Catholic Church by one cardinal, seven arch- 

 bishops, twenty-three bishops, and about 1,500 clergy : 

 and the Presbyterian Church in Canada, with about 

 1,000 ministers formed in 1875 by the union of two 

 formerly distinct bodies by presbyteries, synods, and 

 an annual assembly as in the Scotch Church, with 2,358 

 churches andstations. The Methodists have 1,700 and 

 the Baptists about 500 ministers. All these bodies have 

 one or more divinity schools. The number of members 

 of each religious creed in the Dominion was as follows 

 at the census of April 6, 1891 : 



Production and Industry. Agriculture. Of the 

 total area of Canada in 1891, there were 28,537,242 acres 

 of improved land, out of 60,287 ,7."0 acres of occupied 

 land. Of the improved lands, l!,'.iO4.si.'ii acres were un- 

 der crop, being 4,792,542 acres more than \\>-r>- under 

 crop in 1881. The acreage under pasture in ]>!U \v;is 15.- 

 234,788 acres, an increase of ,W.>:->"M acres since 1881. 

 The acreage under wheat in 1891 was 2,723,861 acres, an 

 increase of 381,506 acres in ten years. The average yield 

 of 1891 per acre was 15.4 bushels, an increase ">t l.i 1 . 

 bushels per acre over the yield of 18si. There is a cen- 

 tral experimental farm near Ottawa, and others in sev- 

 eral of the provinces. In 1895 there were 195 ranches 

 in the N.-W. Territories, covering an area of 904,187 

 acres. 



Forestry. The timber wealth of Canada is very 

 large, and timbering one of its most important indus- 

 tries. The forest area is estimated at 1,248,798 square 

 miles. The forest products of 1891 were valued at 80,- 

 071,415 dollars, of which 27,207,547 dollars were exported. 

 The census returns show an aggregate of 2,045,073,072 

 cubic feet as the total cut of the year. The forest prod- 

 ucts exported to the United Kingdom in 1897 amounted 

 in value to 14,973,292 dollars out of a total of 32,937,976 

 dollars. The recently introduced wood pulp industry is 

 increasing rapidly, the exportable surplus being 741,960 

 dol|arsin 1897, chiefly going to Great Britain and the 

 United States. The'Crown forests belong to the Pro- 

 vincial Governments, except in Manitoba, the N.-W. 

 Territories, and the Railway Belt (forty miles wide) in 

 British Columbia, where they belong to the Dominion. 



fisheries. The total value.of the produce of the fisher- 

 iesof Canada in 1896 was 20 ,407 ,424 dollars; in!895, 20,185,- 

 298 dollars. The values of the principal catches in 1896 

 were: cod, 3,610,979 dollars; salmon, 4,009,679 dollars; 

 herring, 2,909,744 dollars ; lobsters, 2,205,762 dollars, and 

 mackerel, 727,743 dollars. In 1896, according to prov- 

 inces, the values were: Nova Scotia, 6,070,895 dollars; 

 British Columbia, 4,183,999; New Brunswick, 4,799,433; 

 Quebec, 2,025,754; Ontario, 1,605,674; Prince Edward 

 Island, 976,126; Manitoba and N.-W. Territories, 74.->.54:i. 



Mining. Nova Scotia, British Columbia, Quebec, N. 

 and W. Ontario, and part of the N.-W. Territories, are 

 the chief mining districts of Canada. The total value 

 of the mineral produce of Canada was, in 1897, 28,779,173 

 dollars; in 1896, 22,009,825 dollars. The principal product 

 is coal, of which, in 1896, 3,745,716 tons were raised, val- 

 ued at 7,226,462 dollars ; in 181)7, 3,876,201 tons, valued at 

 7,442,204 dollars. Among the other minerals produced 

 in 1897 were gold, 6.190.000 dollars : nickel, 1.400,000 dol- 

 lars; asbestos, 324,700 dollars; petroleum, 1,011,54<> dol- 

 lars; copper, 1,501,660 dollars; silver, 3,322,000 dollars; 

 lead, 1,396,850 dollars; iron ore, 178,719 dollars. It is 

 estimated that the coal-bearing area of the N.-W. 

 Territories extends over 65,000 square miles. 



Capital. The capital of Canada was transferred in 

 1841 from Kingston to Montreal, and in 1849 serious riots 

 arose resulting in the burning of the Parliament Houses 

 on the 26th of April, over the question of compensation 

 for those who had suffered losses during the recent 

 rebellion. The riots were in reality caused by the hostil- 

 ity of the British and French inhabitants. One of the 

 results was the establishment of two seats of govern- 

 ment, one at Toronto and the other at Ottawa, Parlia- 

 ment sitting four years ineach city alternately. < tttawu 

 later on was made the capital of Canada and eventually 

 of the Dominion. 



Naturalization. No question of naturalization arises 

 in connection with the emigration of British subjects to 

 Canada. Settling in the Dominion makes no more 

 change in this respect than a removal from York, Glas- 

 gow, Swansea, or Dublin to London, and a new arrival 

 has all the privileges of a Canadian born fellow subject. 

 For foreigners the Canadian naturalization laws are 

 marked by a spirit of liberality, and such persons can 

 transact a'ny business and hold real estate without being 

 naturalized. By residing three years and taking the 

 oath of allegiance they become naturalized British sub- 

 jects. The oath is one of simple allegiance and does 

 not require anv offensive renunciations. Naturaliza- 

 tion confers political and all other rights. 



Money and Credit. The Bank Acts of Canada im- 

 pose stringent conditions as to capital, notes in circula- 

 tion, limit of dividend, returns to the Dominion 

 Government, and other points in all chartered and 

 incorporated banks. In making paymentsevery bank is 

 compelled if required to pay a certain proportion in 

 Dominion Government notes, and must hold not less 

 than 40 percent, of its cash reserve in Dominion Govern- 

 ment notes. In 1897 there were 37 incorporated bauka 



