PROGRESS BY LAND, 1818-I910 185 



St. John's was split into two, and Conception Bay into five 

 constituencies, so that seven constituencies in the new list 

 represented five constituencies in the old list. On the other 

 hand one of the additions of 1855, and many additions, which 

 have been made since 1855, are of historical importance; 

 thus the constituency of La Poile-and-Burgeo, on the west of 

 the south coast, was added in 1855, St. George Bay, White 

 Bay, and Bonne Bay,^ on the Treaty Shore, were added in 

 1878, and Fogo was severed from Twillingate in 1885, all 

 of which changes were due to movements of population, 

 occasioned partly by mineral development in Green Bay and 

 its neighbourhood, and partly by the settlements on the Treaty 

 Shore, whose origin and progress will be discussed in the 

 next chapters. At present there are eighteen constituencies 

 and thirty-six members, and the Legislative Council contains 

 eighteen nominated members. 



The electoral districts of Newfoundland are unique in two duf the 

 respects. They are, as a rule, coast-lines or islets, and ^j-'^f^-^! 

 nothing more, and the mainland is described as if it consisted cleave to 

 of one dimension. The founders of the Constitution seem to ^^^^ ^^^^^' 

 have assumed that it was inconceivable that any one could 

 live anywhere except by the sea. Now and then other 

 points of view are grudgingly and tardily adopted ; thus 

 St. John's District always included the road to Broad Cove 

 and the peninsula on the north of it, and in 1889 and 1897 

 the borders of the districts of Trinity Bay, Bonavista Bay 

 and Twillingate were enlarged to include the railroad across 

 the island. Otherwise there seems to be a fixed idea that an 

 electoral district must be a Bay or something very like it. 



Secondly, up to a few years ago there were no political ««^ ^^^^^'^ 



divisions or units of Government except the electoral divisions, i„stitu- 



They were the basis of the census and of road-appropriations, iions except 



Taxes and road-, water-, and sewer-rates were levied by the /^/^;^'/ 



Central Government. Calamity has to some extent fostered ^>itt>ii<^i- 



pality, 

 1 Now St. Barbe District. 



