NOVA SCOTIA. 



451 



the counties of Inverness and Cape Breton, and 

 was due, probably, to the cessation of the grant- 

 ing of " permissive " licenses. That this most de- 

 sirable change had been effected without any more 

 serious consequences was very satisfactory, espe- 

 cially when it is known that in 1897 and 1896 the 

 sections without schools were respectively 153 and 

 171, although " permissive" licenses were then be- 

 ing granted. To the same cause the decrease in 

 the annual enrollment from 101,203 to 100,617 may 

 be due. The number of teachers employed in these 

 2,390 schools diminished from 2,510 to 2,494, com- 

 pared with the previous year, which means that 

 the schools were improving with respect to the 

 number of changes in the teaching staff made 

 within the school year. The amount of money 

 raised by assessment on the school sections was 

 less than in the previous year by about $25,000. 

 More than $16,000 less was required for building 

 and repairs. This economy did not affect injuri- 

 ously the salaries of the teachers, for which more 

 than $15,000 more was voted than last year. 



The statistics of the public schools for the term 

 ending July 31, 1899, show 2,390 schools, 100,617 

 pupils, and an average attendance of 55,919. In 

 the county academies there were 1,795 pupils and 

 53 teachers. The total expenditure included $246,- 

 462 from the Government, $120,082 from the mu- 

 nicipalities, and $447,906 from other sources a 

 total of $814,450. 



Revision of the Statutes. This most impor- 

 tant matter had been for some years in the hands 

 of a joint committee of the Legislative Council and 

 House of Assembly, composed of Messrs. J. W. 

 Longley, W. T. Pipes, E. M. MacDonald, W. H. 

 Owen, W. B. Wallace, J. N. Armstrong, J. H. 

 Sinclair, C. S. Wilcox, D. Finlayson, and H. H. 

 Wickwire. It reported in the session of 1900, and 

 advised slight changes in the work of the preced- 

 ing royal commission. 



Railways. During the year work was ad- 

 vanced upon important local lines, notably the 

 Midland Railway, the Coast Line, the Inverness 

 and Richmond Railway, and the Nova Scotia 

 Southern Railway. The passengers on the pro- 

 vincial railways during 1899 numbered 103,861 ; 

 the value of the freight carried was $338,406, and 

 of the mails and sundries $90,257. The chief rail- 

 way event, however, was the letting of the con- 

 tract for, and partial construction of, the Inver- 

 ness and Richmond Railway, connecting the coal 

 mines of the mainland with the great steel inter- 

 ests of Cape Breton Island. The contract provided 

 for the construction and equipment of 60 miles 

 of railway from a junction with the Intercolonial 

 Railway at Port Hawkesbury to Broad Cove, and 

 to put them into operation on or before June 15, 

 1901, open and bona fide work a coal mine or coal 

 mines at Broad Cove, and equip the same with 

 approved plant and machinery sufficient for the 

 production of 250,000 tons of coal per annum, time 

 to be material and the essence of the contract. 

 The contract was executed on May 23, 1899; loca- 

 tion surveys were made, submitted, and approved, 

 and actual construction began in June following. 

 The progress was very satisfactory. 



Mines and Minerals. The production of gold 

 in Xova Scotia during the year ending Sept. 30, 

 1899, was 27,772 ounces; of coal, 2,642,333 tons; 

 of coke, 55,484 tons; of gypsum, 140,000 tons; of 

 grindstones, 50,000 tons. The chief increase was 

 in coal 360,929 tons more than in 1898. The cen- 

 tral subject of congratulation was the very great 

 impetus given to mining and industrial develop- 

 ment in Cape Breton in 1899 and 1900. It arose 

 out of the formation of the Dominion Coal Com- 

 pany in 1893 by Mr. H. M. Whitney, of Boston, 



I 



and the obtaining by him of a ninety-nine-year 

 lease of most of the mines in the Sydney (Cape 

 Breton) coal field. In March, 1899, Mr. Whitney 

 organized the Dominion Iron and Steel Company, 

 with large capital and special privileges granted 

 by the provincial and Dominion governments. 

 With every facility for shipping and easy aci-c 

 to raw materials and available markets, with im- 

 mense mineral wealth only awaiting development, 

 with one of the finest harbors in the world at 

 Sydney, these concerns have already expended 

 much money and produced a condition of great 

 prosperity in Cape Breton. The total value of 

 mineral production in the province in 1899 was 

 $3,517,030. 



Fisheries. The value of the yield in 1898 was 

 $7,226,035, distributed mainly among cod ($1,896,- 

 614), lobsters ($2,673,624), and haddock ($532,- 

 648). The bounties paid by the Dominion Govern- 

 ment to fishermen in the province amounted to 

 $103,730; and the number of vessels engaged wa* 

 508, with a tonnage of 20,868, and 4,840 men. The 

 smaller boats numbered 7,872, with 12,438 men. 

 A slight decrease on the preceding year was visi- 

 ble in these figures. 



In the session of 1900, on March 22, a select 

 committee of the house composed of Messrs. 

 George Mitchell, J. G. Sperry, M. J. Doucet, C. P. 

 Chisholm, E. M. Farrell, Simon Joyce, H. S. Le- 

 blanc, A. M. Gidney, T. Robertson, and Mr. Law- 

 reported upon matters relating to an inquiry into 

 the condition of the fishermen of Nova Scotia, as 

 follows : 



" That they have held several meetings, and 

 have carefully considered the subject of providing 

 cold-storage facilities for the preservation of fresh 

 bait for the use of the fishermen, toward which 

 the Federal Government made an appropriation 

 last session of $25,000 to supplement amounts to 

 be raised by associations of fishermen in various 

 localities for the purpose of building and equip- 

 ing cold-storage houses. 



" That they have been informed that associa- 

 tions have been formed throughout the fishing cen- 

 ters of the province as well as in Prince Edward 

 Island and the Magdalen Islands, and that a few 

 cold-storage buildings are in course of construc- 

 tion. 



" That your committee desire to impress upon 

 the Federal Government their sense of the great 

 importance of the enterprise, conferring, as it will, 

 immense benefits on the fishermen by preserving 

 fresh bait and encouraging the trade in fresh bait, 

 which latter should attain to much greater pro- 

 portions than it has hitherto done, and they 

 would express the hope that the Government will 

 continue to deal with it in the most liberal manner 

 possible." 



Agriculture. This industry never has been 

 extensive in Nova Scotia, but latterly, as ship- 

 building declined in importance, it has come more 

 to the front. These subjects were debated in the 

 Legislature, and on March 28, 1900, the Hon. T. 

 R. Black presented a report from the Committee 

 on Agriculture from which a few extracts may be 

 taken as descriptive of the general situation : 



" The agricultural industry of the province is 

 assuming a much more encouraging aspect from 

 year to year. We find our farmers generally dis- 

 playing a much more intelligent and hopeful in- 

 terest in their calling than in former times. There 

 is a feeling abroad that farming pays when the 

 industry is conducted with intelligence and spirit, 

 and there can be no doubt that vast improvements 

 are being made in agricultural methods, with cor- 

 respondingly beneficial results. 



" In view of the large increase in the mining 



