BRITISH ISLANDS IN NORTH AMERICA, 



The islands belonging to Great Britain in North America are New- 

 foundland, Cape Breton, St. John's, and the Bermudas, or Summer 

 Islands. 



Newfoundland is situate on the east side of the gulf of St. Law- 

 rence, between 46 and 52 degrees of north latitude, and between 52 

 and 59 of west longitude. It is separated from Labrador, or New 

 Britain, by the straits of Belleisle, and from Canada by the bay of St 

 Lawrence ; being 380 miles long, and 287 broad. The coasts are ex- 

 tremely subject to fogs, attended with almost continual storms of 

 snow and sleet, the sky being usually overcast. The cold of winter- 

 is here long continued and severe, and the summer heat, though 

 sometimes violent, is not sufficient to produce any thing valuable, the 

 soil being rocky and barren. It is, however, watered by several 

 good rivers, and has many large and excellent harbours. This island 

 seems to be rather hilly than mountainous, with woods of birch, small 

 pine, and fir : but on the south-west side are lofty headlands. It is 

 chiefly valuable for the great fishery of cod, carried on upon those 

 shoals, which are called the banks of Newfoundland. Great Britain 

 and the United States, at the lowest computation, annually employ 

 3000 sail of small craft in this fishery, on board of which, and on shore, 

 to cure and pack the fish, are upwards of 100,000 hands. This fishery 

 is computed to yield 300,000/. a year from the cod sold in Catholic 

 countries. The numbers of cod, both in the great bank and the lesser, 

 are inconceivable ; and not only cod but several other species of fish 

 are caught there in abundance, all of which are nearly in equal plenty 

 along the shores of Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, New England, and 

 the island of Cape Breton, and very profitable fisheries are carried 

 on upon all their coasts. 



The chief towns in Newfoundland are Piacentia containing 3000 in- 

 habitants, Bonavista, and St. John's. A small squadron is sent in the 

 spring to protect the fisheries and inhabitants, the admiral of which, 

 for the time being, is governor of the island, besides whom their is e 

 lieutenant governor, who resides at Piacentia. 



This island was discovered by Sebastian Cabot, in 1496, and both 

 the French and English had made settlements there in the beginning 

 of the seventeenth century. After various contests and disputes, 

 however, the island was entirely ceded to England by the treaty of 

 Utrecht, in 1713 : but the French were left at liberty to dry their nets 

 on the northern shores of the island : and by the treaty of 1763, they 

 were permitted to fish in the gulf of St. Lawrence ; but with the limi- 

 tation that they should not approach within three leagues of any of 

 the coasts belonging to England. The small islands of St. Pierra 

 and Miquelon, situate to the southward of Newfoundland, were also 



