240 CANADIAN NIGHTS 



as yet are only partially developed, but the true 

 source of its wealth and cause of its prosperity is, 

 and always will be, the sea. There is a farm which 

 needs no cultivation, a mine which never '' peters 

 out." The hardy Newfoundland fisherman pur- 

 sues his calling not only among his native bays, 

 but also along the coasts of the Labrador as far 

 north as the entrance into Hudson Straits ; and 

 yet, in spite of all his industry and the inex- 

 haustible riches of the sea, he leads a poor, and 

 too often a miserable life. He is generally deeply 

 in debt to the nearest storekeeper, and he is com- 

 pelled to look on while others reap the harvest 

 drawn from what he, perhaps not unnaturally, 

 considers his own seas. The fishery question in 

 Newfoundland, and in fact the whole state of the 

 country, is in a peculiar condition. 



Most Englishmen probably suppose that New- 

 foundland is a dependency of Great Britain ; but 

 that idea is only partially true, for the sovereign 

 rights of the Crovni are recognised only over a 

 portion of the island. The fishery rights of 

 France, as settled under the treaty of Utrecht in 

 171 3, still remain in force. Under that treaty the 

 islands of St. Pierre and Miguelon were absolutely 

 secured to France to enable her to pursue the 



