NEWFOUNDLAND. 



acid, which is necessary in the pulp manufacture ; 

 so that at Grand Lake' are coal, inexhaustible for- 

 ests, and iron pyrites a combination that rarely 

 occurs in any single locality. 



Whale Fishery. The Cabot Steam Whale-Pish- 

 ing Company began operations in July last with a 

 single steamer called " The Cabot." The success of 

 the little steamer was wonderful. She captured 91 

 whales, and her gross earnings were $22,000. This 

 was done in less than four months. She was built 

 Norway, and the captain and crew are Nor- 

 regians. The whales are taken by firing a bomb 

 rhich, on striking the whale, explodes, killing it 

 itantly, and at the same time develops a gas 

 rhich prevents the animal from sinking. The 

 rhales are the sulphur-bottom, the finback, and 

 mmpback. They are in great numbers round the 

 ;oast. The company intend building a second 

 steamer this year, and will erect a second factory 

 for the extraction of the oil at Hermitage Bay. 

 Events. The year 1898 was eventful. In the 

 sneral elections of November, 1897, Sir William 

 r hiteway's party were defeated, and a new Gov- 

 ernment came into power, headed by Sir James 

 Winter, the Hon. A. B. Morine being Minister of 

 Finance. It proved to be a strong Government, 

 and during its first session passed many useful 

 measures, the most important being the Reid con- 

 tract, already referred to. After the session Sir 

 James Winter and the Hon. A. B. Morine went as 

 deputies from the Government to the Colonial 

 Office. One of their principal objects was to in- 

 duce the Right Hon. Joseph Chamberlain, Colonial 

 Minister, to grant a royal commission to investi- 

 gate the working of the treaties on the French 

 shore. In this they were successful, and Sir John 

 Blamston and Sir James Erskine were appointed 

 commissioners for this purpose. After spending 

 :wo months in the colony, during which they visited 

 "ic whole of the French shore and examined a large 

 imber of witnesses, they returned and made their 

 sport. That report has not yet been made public, 

 it its character may be inferred from Mr. Cham- 

 berlain's speech at Manchester in November last, 

 in which he emphatically charged the French with 

 a system of constant aggressions in Newfoundland 

 which, while highly injurious to the colony, did 

 themselves no good, and which were unwarranted 

 by the treaties. In subsequent speeches he was 

 even more pointed, and said that " by means of 

 alleged rights under antiquated treaties they have 

 strangled our colony of Newfoundland, and have 

 done so without a penny of advantage to them- 

 selves." He further said that " if they were desir- 

 ous of amity with England, it will be an easy thing 

 for them to abandon those antiquated rights for a 

 satisfying compensation." The people so long 

 neglected and oppressed by these treaties, which 

 rere made for a state of matters that ceased to 

 :ist long ago saw at once that they had found a 

 lampion in Mr. Chamberlain. The condition of 

 Tairs had at last become intolerable, and only one 

 smedy was of any value the total extinction of 

 mch treaty rights on the shores of the .island. 

 r ith St. Pierre and Miquelon and their bank 

 shery Newfoundlanders have no wish to inter- 

 fere; but they must be cleared out of the island, 

 and this can be done by an equitable purchase. 

 The French themselves begin to see the necessity 

 of relinquishing those rights in a peaceable man- 

 ner. One of their admirals has publicly declared 

 that the Newfoundland fisheries are of no value 

 whatever to the navy of France. The settlement 

 of the French shore question in some shape is now 

 assured. Hitherto, by these old treaties, one half 

 the island and that by far the better half was 

 practically locked up. 



NEW HAMPSHIRE. 



483 



ii 



The past year was marked by another important 

 event : The international conference for the settle- 

 ment of all outstanding matters in dispute between 

 England and the United States has been sitting for 

 several months, and will soon close its sessions. 

 Canada and Newfoundland are represented on this 

 conference, the latter by Sir James Winter, Premier. 

 Newfoundland is mainly interested in the fisheries. 



Naval Reserve. One other mark of favor was 

 conferred on Newfoundland in the past year. She 

 is the first colony to which has been extended the 

 provision for recruiting for the naval reserve. The 

 people being seafaring largely, it is expected that a 

 great number of good recruits for the navy reserve 

 will be found in the island. The terms are liberal, 

 and the service is popular in the colony. Recruits 

 will be trained for one month each year, and after- 

 ward will serve six months on board a man-of-war. 



NEW HAMPSHIRE, a New England State, one 

 of the original thirteen, ratified the Constitution 

 June 21, 1788 ; area, 9,305 square miles. The pop- 

 ulation, according to each decennial census, was 

 141,885 in 1790; 183,858 in 1800; 214,460 in 1810; 

 244,022 in 1820 ; 269,328 in 1830 ; 284,574 in 1840 ; 

 317,916 in 1850 ; 326,073 in 1860 ; 318,300 in 1870 ; 

 346,991 in 1880; and 376,530 in 1890. Capital, 

 Concord. 



Government. The following were the State offi- 

 cers during the year : Governor, George A. Rams- 

 dell ; Secretary of 



State, Ezra S. HgBHBHHBBBIHHi 

 Stearns ; Treas- 

 urer, Solon A. 

 Carter; Attorney- 

 General, Edwin J. 

 Eastman ; Adju- 

 tant General, Au- 

 gustus I). Ayling 

 all Republicans; 

 Insurance Com- 

 missioner, John C. 

 Linehan : Bank 

 Commissioners, 

 John Hatch, Al- 

 pheus W. Baker, 

 and Thomas J. 

 Walker, succeed- 

 ed by George W. 

 Cummings ; Su- 

 perintendent of 

 Public Instruc- 

 tion, Fred Gow- 

 ing, succeeded by Channing Folsom ; Secretary of 

 the Board of Agriculture, N. J. Bachelder; Labor 

 Commissioner, Julian F. Trask ; Public Printer, 

 Arthur E. Clarke; Chief Justice of the Supreme 

 Court, Alonzo P. Carpenter (died May 21, 1898), 

 Lewis W. Clark, appointed May 31 (term expired 

 by limitation seventy years Aug. 19), Isaac N. 

 Blodgett, appointed Aug. 18; Associate Justices, 

 William M. Chase, Robert M. Wallace, Frank N. 

 Parsons, Robert G. Pike, Robert J. Peaslee, John 

 E. Young ; Law Reporter, Charles B. Hibbard. 



Finances. The cash in the treasury June 1, 

 1897, was $241,296.27. The receipts during the year 

 were $1,325,687.68 : total, $1,566,983.95. The dis- 

 bursements during the year amounted to $1,152,- 

 468.09, and the cash on hand June 1, 1898, was 

 $414,515.86. The revenue was from the following 

 sources: State tax, $500,000: railroad tax, $136,- 

 603.99; insurance tax, $26,001.04; interest on de- 

 posits, $2,977.09; license fees (peddlers), $3,800; 

 license fees (fertilizers), $1.150; telegraph tax, 

 $3.330.84; telephone tax, $3,503.04; charter fees, 

 $215 ; fees (insurance department), $9,964.50 ; Lura 

 S. Craig refunds part asylum charges, account Com- 

 missioner of Lunacy, $10; Benjamin Thompson es- 



FRANK W. ROLLINS, 

 GOVERNOR OF NEW HAMPSHIRE. 



