NOVA SCOTIA 



4300 



NOVA SCOTIA 



and lumber and wood pulp are manufactured in 

 the western part of the province. The streams 

 furnish an abundance of water power. 



Transportation and Commerce. The exten- 

 sive coast line with numerous good harbor sites 

 gives Nova Scotia special advantages for ship- 

 ping her products. Moreover, she is nearer 

 Europe and South America than most of the 

 Atlantic seaports in the United States. Syd- 

 ney is 800 miles nearer Liverpool than is New 

 York. The harbors on the Atlantic coast and 

 the Bay of Fundy are open throughout the 

 :. There are about 1,400 miles of railway 

 in the province. A line extends from Halifax 

 along the coast around the western part of the 

 peninsula. Another line extends northeasterly 

 from Halifax and connects with a line border- 

 ing Northumberland Strait and extending into 

 Cape Breton. A branch of this line makes con- 

 nection at Moncton, N. B., with all important 

 lines in that province. The chief exports are 

 fish, lumber, coal, iron and steel and agricul- 

 tural products. The imports consist of manu- 

 factured goods, especially textiles and clothing. 

 Most of the foreign trade is with Great Britain 

 and the United States. 



Education. For educational purposes the pro- 

 vincial cabinet constitutes the Educational 

 Council, which with a superintendent of edu- 

 cation is at the head of the public school sys- 

 tem. The schools are free and undenomina- 

 tional. About one-fifth of their support is 

 derived from a provincial fund, and the balance 

 from local taxation. A strict compulsory educa- 

 tion law is in force throughout the province. 

 Besides the agricultural college at Truro there 

 is the Nova Scotia Technical College at Halifax 

 with branches in all industrial centers. The Pro- 

 vincial Normal College is at Truro, and at Hali- 

 fax is the Halifax Ladies' College and Con- 

 servatory of Music, and the Victoria SchooJ of 

 Art and Design. Among the leading denomina- 

 tional institutions are the University of Saint 

 Francis Xavier College at Antigonish, Acadia 

 University (which see) at Wolfville, King's Col- 

 lege at Windsor, and the Presbyterian College 

 at Halifax. Dalhousie University (which see) 

 also at Halifax, is undenominational, and is the 

 leading university of the Maritime Provinces. 



Government. The chief executive is a lieu- 

 tenant-governor who is appointed by the gov- 

 ernor-general of the Dominion in council. He 

 is assisted by a cabinet of seven members. The 

 legislature consists of a legislative council of 

 twenty-one members appointed for life by the 

 lieutenant-governor in council, and a house 



or assembly of forty-three members, elected 

 by the voters of the counties and cities. The 

 chief executive is the premier, who is at the 

 head of the governor's cabinet. The affairs of 

 each county are managed by a county council 

 elected by the people. Money cannot be bor- 

 rowed without the sanction of the people. The 

 judges of the courts are appointed by the Do- 

 minion government for life. 



History. In 1497 Cabot (which see) landed 

 on Cape Breton Island, and it is supposed that 

 the Portuguese navigator Cortercal explored 

 the coast in 1500. Verrazano, Cartier and other 

 French explorers learned of the country early 

 in the sixteenth 

 century, and 

 French fishermen 

 frequented the 

 waters off the 

 coast during this 

 time. The actual 

 history of the 

 province, how- 

 ever, began in 

 1604, when the 

 first settlement 

 was made on the COAT OF ARMS 



island of Saint Croix by Sieur de Monts, 

 Champlain and others. This settlement, re- 

 moved the following year to Port Royal, is 

 the oldest settlement by white men in British 

 North America (see ANNAPOLIS ROYAL). The 

 territory comprising New Brunswick and Nova 

 Scotia was granted de Monts under the name 

 of Acadie (see ACADIA). While the country 

 remained in possession of France, Annapolis 

 Royal was the chief center of French influence. 

 During the French occupation the New Eng- 

 land colonists made a number of attempts to 

 gain possession of the country. In 1621 Sir 

 William Alexander obtained from James I a 

 grant of the entire territory of Acadia, which 

 he renamed Nova Scotia, the Latin for New 

 Scotland. In 1628 Port Royal was captured by 

 Sir David Kirk of England, but in 1632 the 

 province was restored to France. In 1654 the 

 English again obtained possession, but lost it 

 in the treaty of Breda three years later. For 

 the next forty years and more the French were 

 left in undisputed possession of the country, 

 then in 1710 Port Royal was taken by Col. Fran- 

 cis Nicholson and the Treaty of Utrecht gave 

 tfie territory to Great Britain. The fortress of 

 Louisburg on Cape Breton, which was consid- 

 ered the strongest fortification in America, was 

 captured by the English in 1745 and in 1758. 



