BRITISH NORTH AMERICA ACT 



946 



BRITISH WEST INDIES 



The South Kensington natural history col- 

 lections are as rich as are those in the main 

 museum, and school children by thousands 

 flock there to see the stuffed animals from all 



act. Again in 1875 it was found necessary to 

 define more clearly one of the sections regard- 

 ing the powers of Parliament, and in 1886 the 

 Dominion Parliament was given authority to 

 admit representatives from "any territory 

 which for the time being forms part of 

 the Dominion of Canada but is not in- 

 cluded in any province." 



For details of the governmental or- 

 ganization established by the British 

 North America Act, see CANADA, subhead 

 Government. 



BRITISH WEST INDIES, in'diz, a 

 term embracing all the islands in the West 

 Indies, sometimes called THE ANTILLES, 



Haiti 





BRITISH WEST INDIES (In Black) 



over the world, the collections of nests and 

 eggs, and the plants, the gorgeous butterflies 

 and the birds, placed in such natural attitudes 

 and surroundings that they seem to be actually 

 alive. A.MC c. 



For a description of the largest library on the 

 Continent, the national library of France, see 



BlBLIOTHEQUE NATIONALS. 



BRITISH NORTH AMERICA ACT, the offi- 

 cial title of an act passed by the British Par- 

 liament in March, 1867, providing for the 

 formation of the Dominion of Canada. On 

 May 22 the queen issued a proclamation "for 

 uniting the provinces of Canada, Nova Scotia, 

 and New Brunswick, into one Dominion, under 

 the name of Canada," and on July 1, 1867, 

 the act went into effect. This day is now 

 celebrated each year as Dominion Day, the 

 birthday of the Dominion of Canada. See 

 DOMINION DAY. 



By the terms of the act, the province of 

 Canada, which had been formed in 1841 by 

 the union of Upper and Lower Canada, was 

 again divided, and the provinces were given 

 the names of Ontario and Quebec. New 

 Brunswick and Nova Scotia retained their 

 names, and provision was also made for the 

 future admission of other provinces. 



The British North America Act has been 

 several times amended. The first time was 

 in 1871, when the British Parliament removed 

 doubt as to the power of the Canadian Par- 

 liament to establish provinces in the territo- 

 ries acquired after the passage of the original 



Venezuela/liy; 



now in the possession 

 of Great Britain. They 

 include the Bahamas 

 Barbados, Jamaica, 

 Leeward Islands, Wind- 

 ward Islands, Trinidad, 

 Tobago and numerous 

 smaller islands and 

 islets. For purposes of 

 administration they are 

 divided into Crown col- 

 onies, governed by the Crown of Great Britain 

 through governors appointed by the king, and 

 colonies with a limited amount of self-gov- 

 ernment. The federation of all of these British 

 islands into one self-governing colony has 

 been proposed, but has not been found 

 practicable. The climate is healthful, and, 

 although at times the heat is excessive, re- 

 freshingly cool breezes blow from the sea. 

 Agriculture is the principal occupation of 

 the inhabitants, most of whom are of mixed 

 races. Sugar, fruit, vegetables and cereals 

 are grown, and the islands produce much 

 valuable timber. Locust trees grow to enor- 

 mous size, and there are many specimens 

 said to be 4,000 years old. A kind of rice 

 which, unlike the usual species, requires little 

 irrigation, is extensively cultivated. Popula- 

 tion, estimated at 1,680,651. Each group of 

 islands named above is described elsewhere in 

 these volumes. For a list of all the outlying 

 possessions of the Empire, see GREAT BRITAIN, 

 subhead Colonial Possessions of Great Britain. 



