458 



NEWFOUNDLAND 



south wext form the ongh-s. It in .170 miles in 

 h-ngth. '290 niilr- in liic.idtli. itinl ha.- nn area iif 

 411,'JiNi .-.(. in. -a fifth less tlmn F.ngland. 1'op. 

 (IS71) IB8.958; (1891) 197,934. The roust of 

 Labrador from the entrance of llud-on Strait to 

 a line to lie <lrawn due north ami south, from 

 Anse S;ililon on the -aid eoa-l to the lift y -second 

 degree of north latitude, and all the i.shinds adja- 

 rent to that part of the said coast of Labrador,' 

 i- claim. <! ;ii constituting n dc|>cndeiicy of New- 

 foundland. During the fishing sea-son in each year 

 about 30,000 inhabitants of Newfoundland vi-.it 

 Labrador, and live aliout its harbours, either on 

 shore or in their vecls, for about three niciiitlis in 

 each year. The |Mi|>ulation of Newfoundland and 

 Ijil.nulor amonnteil in Issi to 197,335, of whom 

 75,354 were ltoiu:in Catholics, (i9,(KK) memliers of 

 the Church of England, and 48,767 Wesleyan 

 Methodists. The aide liodied fishermen numliered 

 33,000, and a! .out 21,000 women and children were 

 also engaged '" ''"ring n 'sh. 



The island, as seen from the sea, presents a wild 

 and sterile ap|>eaiauce. It* surface is divaniftod 

 hy iiniiiniain-, pond-, and lakes. The mountains 

 in the Avalon Peninsula (stretching south-east 

 from the main portion of the island, and oonnccted 

 with it by an isthmus of only alioiit 3 miles in 

 width) rise in some coses in over '2000 feet aliove 

 sea-level. The nunihcr of the lakes and 'ponds' 

 is remarkahle, and it has ltce.ii estimated that 

 alxiut one-third of the whole surface is covered 

 with fresh water. The coast-line is everywhere 

 deeply indented with hays and estuaries. These 

 bays vary in length from 25 to 70 miles, are of 

 great hreodth, ami are lined as indeed the whole 

 coast is with excellent harbours. The rivers are 

 narrow and winding. Much of the soil is produc- 

 tive, and there is considerable cultivation along the 

 gcalxiard of the settled districts, but careful ex- 

 ploration has shown that the liest land and timber 

 are in the river-valleys and upon the west coast. 

 Large tracts of very good timber, chiefly pine 

 and spruce, exist in several parts of the island. 

 The great body of the jieople being employed 

 either in the fisheries or in establishments con- 

 nected with them, little attention used to be paid 

 to the culture of the soil. In Ist.'i the only 

 crops raised were oats and hay ; but within 

 recent years large supplies of grain, vegetable, 

 and garden seeds have been imported ; and now 

 nlHiut 1,000,000 bushels of potatoes are produced 

 annually, and turnips, hay, carrots, clover, barley, 

 and oats are cultivated with success. The island 

 possesses many minerals. The chief seat of copper- 

 mining is around the shore of Notre Dame Bay. 

 The ore is found in connection with the serpentine 

 rocks, whirh are spread over an area of 5000 sc(. m. 

 Up to 1890 the value of copper and nickel ore ex- 

 jiorted was about 1,500,000 sterling; the ex|K>rt 

 in IsiMi won worth over 99,000. Iron is worked 

 mainly as yet on the east coast. (Jold has been 

 found. Rich dejiosits of lend ore exist in several 

 |dac. Gyp-urn and marbles are plentiful. Roof- 

 ing-slate is found. Coul ami iron exist side by side 

 the west coast, but their development is 

 unfortunately hampered by claims set up by the 

 Krench ton right to use the strand for drying fish 

 'free from interruption ' by the colonists. The 

 name claims have seriously im|>eded mining opera- 

 tion- in ^evcral part* of the island. 



:tt vaiietvof valuable lish it found in the 



waters of ih lony and its dependencies, but cod, 



hciring, and salmon are the most important. The 

 capture of seals and the canning of loin-tent also 

 add to the resources of the Newfoundlanders. 

 A Iran t 2.50,000 seals are annually taken and their 

 skins sent to (treat Britain for manufacturing 

 purposes ; the ' fat ' is made into seal oil, which is 



used in manufacturing and for lubiieating purpc so. 

 The industry of canning lobsters, though com- 

 menced since ls.su. lias an animal value of 

 alxiut 500,000. Several factories for canning 

 l..:-ieis have Wii erected by the French il]Min the 

 couti of Newloundland over \\hirli they have 

 certain rights, but the legality of this action is 

 contested h\ the colonists, upon the gr-und that 

 the lobster is not a ' lish ' but u crustacean, and 

 that canning lolisters is not drying lish.' The 

 average annual value of the herrings exported and 

 consumed in the country is al.mn .-tidO.OOO, and 

 that of the salmon exported aliout s I ( M 1,000. 



The people chielly depend for a livelihood upon 

 the Product of the cod-fisheries, of which there 

 are three distinct branches namely, the Labrador 

 fishery, the shore fishery, and the bank fishery. 

 The average annual value of the cod-lishcry is 

 >li.i>:!4.:>42. This calculation include* the dried cod- 

 lisli exported, the quantity consumed l.y the popu- 

 lation, and i he oil extracted from the ii.sh. From 

 25,000 to 35,000 people and 1200 ve-se|s engage in 

 the Labrador fishery, and the annual export i- 

 valued at about 1,500,000. The shore fishery is 

 prosecuted along the whole coast-line in 

 foiiinllaiid, and is the mainstay of the very large 

 portion of the population who from povertv, age, 

 or disinclination refrain from goinj; either to tin. 1 

 Labrador or bank li.-hery. or divide their time 

 lictween farming and fishing. The liank fishery is 

 prosecuted upon the ' liank-,' so called, which lie to 

 the southwards of Newfoundland. These ' Hanks ' 

 are submarine plateaus extending over a tract 

 averaging about 600 miles in length and 200 miles 

 in breadth. The depth of water over the ' Hanks' 

 varies from 100 to 000 feet, and the most produc- 

 tive ground is known a- the 'tlrand Hank.' Amer- 

 ican, Canadian, and French fishermen also resort 

 to these 'Hanks' to fish, the Krench using their 

 islands, St Pierre and Miqndon, as a base of opera- 

 tions. But it is necessary to procure fresh supplies 

 of herring, caplin, and squill at frequent intervals 

 for us" as bait upon the lianks,' and this can only 

 \>c obtained, at the seasons when most vt anted, and 

 without great delay and expense, in the southern 

 hays of Newfoundland, chielly in Fortune and I'la- 

 centia bays. Newfoundland does not now allow 

 the l>ait-fishes to be ex|>rtcd for bait except 

 under licenses, for which a large fee bos to be paid, 

 and the result has been a considerable decrease of 

 the catch upon the lianks by foreign fishermen. 



The revenue in 1893- the year before the great 

 financial, commercial, and political crisis was 

 Si. 853,844, the expenditure being $2,110.000, while 

 the debt in 1804 was $9,116,534, The imports in 

 some years have reached s7,500,000, the exjMirts 



$0,500,000. There has 1 n a slo\v recovery since 



1S!I4, as-isted by very promising finds of gold 

 during the year 18SM5. 



In 1882 a contract was made with a company for 

 the construction of a railway from St Johns to 

 Hall's Hay, a distance of about 200 mile*. After 

 85 miles of the railway from St John's .o Harlxiiir 

 Grace had been completed the work of construc- 

 tion was suspended. In lss7 the government i i.m 

 pleted a branch-line to J'laceiitia. By the lleid 

 contract" (1898) a private contractor leased the 

 railways from government for fifty years, agreed 

 to work them and complete the system for a 

 grant of BO much land ]>er mile, undertook to make 

 docks and build steamers for a fast route to Britain 

 ((ialway or other port), and arranged to exploit 

 the coal and iron of the interior. Atlantic cables 

 land at Heart's Content, on the eastern side of 

 Newfoundland, and at Placentia, on the western 

 side. There are 1400 miles of telegraph. 



The early history of Newfoundland is imolved 

 in obscurity. It was discovered 24th June 1497, 



