QUEBEC 



province U of course the St Lawrence (q.v.), which 

 ha-* many tributaries of great length, the principal 

 lieing the Ottawa, the si Mamie.-, and the Sague- 

 nny. Tho influence of the tide in the Si Lawrence 

 is felt as far up aft the town of Three Rivers, which 

 U nearly 900 miles from the Straits of Belle Isle. 

 Several of the rivers are navigable for the greater 

 part of their course, while others are used in 

 floating timber, and besides supply manufacturing 

 industries with almost unlimited water-power. 

 There are numerous lakes in the province, of whieh 

 the beat known are Temiscamingue, Metapedia, 

 Temiscouata, Menipliremagog, ami St John. The 

 province has a coast-line of 825 miles on the 

 Atlantic. 



The climate of Queltec is very much like that of 

 the other parts of eastern Canada, excepting per- 

 haps that the winter is slightly colder ; but, as in 

 Ontario and in the maritime, provinces, the air is 

 generally dry and brilliant, the cold is not felt to 

 lie unpleasant, and it U no disadvantage to either 

 the agricultural or other industries ; in fact, the 

 climate is exceedingly healthy. The soil of the 

 province is rich ana loamy, well adapted for the 

 growth of products of all kinds. Cereals, hay, and 

 root-crops grow everywhere in abundance. Indian 

 corn, hemp, llax, and tobacco are also raised in 

 many parts of the province. Fruit in consideiuble 

 quantities is grown, especially apples and plums, 

 which are exported largely. Small fruits are 

 very abundant, and grapes ripen in the open 

 air in many districts. Tomatoes are also a 

 field-crop. Cattle-breeding on a large scale is 

 carried on, and many thousands of animals are 

 exported to Great Britain yearly. For pasturage 

 the land of Quebec is of sj>ecial excellence, par- 

 ticularly in the eastern townships and north of the 

 St Lawrence. 



The fisheries in the River and Gulf of St Law- 

 rence are very prolific, and all the smaller rivers 

 teem with fish. Along the St Lawrence especially 

 this industry is an important one. The value of 

 the fisheries is over $2,000,000 annually. The pro- 

 vince is notably rich in minerals. Alluvial gold is 

 found in various places, copper is found in the 

 eastern townships, while iron is very generally 

 distributed. Other minerals, such as lead, silver, 

 platinum, and zinc, are also found, while the 

 aslratos deposita, and those of apatite, or phos- 

 phate of lime, have achieved a reputation far 

 beyond the limits of the province. Agriculture 

 and dairy-farming form the chief occupations of 

 the people at present, but manufactures, the 

 fisheries, and commerce employ a considerable 

 part of its inhabitants, as do also lumbering, 

 mining, and shipbuilding. The principal articles 

 manufactured are cloth, linen, furniture, leather, 

 sawn timber, flax, iron and hardware, paper, 

 chemicals, sugar, soap, india-rublier goods, boote 

 and shoes, cotton and woollen goods, cneese (there 

 were 672 cheese-factories and creameries in 1891 ), 

 and all kinds of agricultural implements. Good 

 av;on mads, abound, and Quebec has nearly 3000 

 miles of railway in operation, besides important 

 canals, such as the Lochine, Jleanharnois, and 

 ('haniMy. A great portion of the total area is 

 covered with timl>er, chiefly red and white pine, 

 the produce of which forms alioiit a third of the 

 total ex|>rts of the province. The other principal 

 exports are animals and their products ami agri- 

 cultural and dairy produce, amounting altogether 

 to about $60,000,000 annually, the greater propor 

 tion going to Great Britain. The imp<.ris reach 

 nearly the same value, the larger half coming from 

 Great Britain. The revenue in 1W7 amounted 

 to $3377,466, the expenditure to $4,892,282, and 

 the provincial debt to $21,718,476. The revenue 

 is derived from the milmidy from the Federal 



treasury, receipts from land sales, timlier limits, 

 mines, licenses, and certain other direct taxes. 

 The affairs of the province, which is divided into 

 03 counties, are administered by a lieutenant- 

 governor, who is appointed by the governor- 

 general, an executive council consisting of 24 

 m.-iniieis appointed for life, and a legislative 

 assembly of 73 jiersons elected every four years. 

 The province is represented in the Dominion Senate 

 by 24 members, and in the House of Commons 

 by 6,"> members. The population consists largely 

 of French-Canadians, descendants of the French 

 settlers living in the country when it was trans- 

 ferred to Great Britain in 1763. The population 

 in 1881 was 1,359,027, of whom 1,073,820, or 79 per 

 cent, of the total, were French, 123,749 Irish, 81,515 

 English, and 50,923 Scotch. In 1891 the total 

 population was 1,488,586. In 1763, at the time of 

 the cession, the French population did not exceed 

 70,000, so that the progress in less than 130 years 

 has been very remarkable, and in strange contrast 

 to the state of things in old France. Families of 

 twelve and fourteen are quite common amongst 

 French-Canadians. The English population does 

 not increase in the same way. Farms are sub- 

 divided amongst all the children as in France. In 

 religion the Roman Catholic-s exceed live-sixths of 

 the population, but the Protestant churches flourish 

 in the cities, and the rights of the minority, in 

 religious and educational matters, are protected by 

 statute. Education is under the supervision of a 

 council, which is divided into two committees for 

 the government of Roman Catholic and Protestant 

 schools respectively. The two Protestant univer- 

 sities are M'Uill at Montreal and Bishop's College 

 at Lennoxville ; Laval, the Catholic university, is 

 at Quebec. The principal city in the province is 

 Montreal, which now claims a population of 

 210,000, and is the commercial metropolis of the 

 Dominion. The next is (Quebec, the most historic 

 city in Canada, and the seat of the provincial 

 government. 



From a historical point of view the province of 

 Quebec is probably the most interesting part of the 

 continent, and has already been dMcribed up to 

 the 'Quebec Act' of 1774 in the article Canada 

 (q.v.). The French language is still used in the 

 province, and is sanctioned by law ; the same 

 remark applies to the French law. It is generally 

 sup|M>sed that these privileges were conferred ti|>on 

 the French-Canadians by statute, but this is not 

 the cose. By the proclamation of 1763 French law 

 was abolished in the province, and the English law 

 substituted for it. The civil law of Fiance was 

 established again in 1791, and the use of the 

 French language was officially recognised for the 

 first time in that year; but by the Art of I Mi) the 

 French language was again set aside, and it was 

 only legalised again in 1848. The principal his- 

 torical occurrences in the 19th century have Iwen 

 the rebellion of 1837-38, which led to the union of 

 Upper and Lower Canada in 1840, ami the siil.-.- 

 qucnt difficulties which ended in the confederation, 

 of 1867, with the other provinces of Canada. 



See Qiitbtc Pott and Prturnt, by J. H. Lemoine 

 (Montreal, 1876); Picturesque <>./.. [1881)j Mineral 

 Rrtourcri of Qiitbee (Oeol. Sur. of Canada, 18HH) ; Sketch 

 of the Province, by the Hon. Honore Alcrcicr ( IS!*)); 

 Garneau'8 Hittory of Canada.; Hittnirt dn I'anatlient 

 f'raiiraii, hy Suite; Cause! 1's J'iftiii-im/itr Canada; and 

 handbook)) issued by the Canadian government 



, capital of the province of that name, 

 is situated on a steep promontory on (he north- 

 west bank of the St Lawrence at its junction with 

 St Charles River, 300 miles from the Gulf of 

 St Liiwrenee and ISO miles lielow Montreal ( 172 

 by rail). The highest part of the headland is 

 Cape Diamond, 333 feet above the level of the 



