Page:1902 Encyclopædia Britannica - Volume 26 - AUS-CHI.pdf/434

 BRITISH

COLUMBIA fishing stations and burial grounds are reserved, and other land has Vancouver Island. Rossland and Nelson in West Kootenay are also of importance. , ., J , been set apart for them for agricultural and pastoral purposes. A places Climate,. —The subjoined figures relating to temperature and prenumber of schools have been established for their education; hut cipitation are from a table prepared by Mr. R. 1. Stupart, director it is questionable whether great benefit is derived from these. of the meteorological service. The station at Victoria may be Though at one time a dangerous element they are now quiet and taken as representing the conditions of the- southern part ot the peaceable. _ . of British Columbia, although the rainfall is much greater on In 1891 there was a large disparity between the sexes m British coast Columbia, the figures showing 63,003 males to 35,170 females; exposed parts of the outer coast. Agassiz represents the I raser delta, Kamloops the southern interior district. The mean temperature the average size of a family being four to seven. The chief cities and decreases to the northward of these selected stations, both are Victoria, the capital, on Vancouver Island, and Vancouver naturally on the mainland, New Westminster on the Fraser, Nanaimo on along the coast and in the interior, while the precipitation increases. 390

Mean Temperature, Highest and Lowest Temperature, Mean Daily Range, and Precipitation at three stations in British Columbia. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec. Year. Jan. I Feb. I March. ] April. May. June. July. Victoria. Mean temperature Mean daily range Absolute highest. Absolute lowest. Precipitation Agassiz. Mean temperature Mean dailj’ range Absolute highest. Absolute lowest. Precipitation Kamloops. Mean temperature Mean daily range Absolute highest. Absolute lowest. Precipitation

37-2 9-0 56 -1 5-13

38-7 10-2 60 6 3-53

43-3 13-5 68 20 2-57

47-0 15-4 74 24 2-11

52-8 17-5 82 30 1-21

56-5 177 86 36 1-16

59-6 20-1 89 37 0-46

59-3 19-5 86 37 0-59

54-6 17-4 80 31 1-98

49-5 13-1 70 22 3-11

43-2 9-9 60 18 6-13

41-3 8*9 59 8 7-53

48-6 14-4 89 -1 35-51

33-0 97 57 -13 7-29

37-6 11-8 64 -12 6-68

44-0 16-1 74 16 5-47

46-7 16-9 82 28 5-49

53-9 18-1 90 30 4-85

58-9 21-2 95 36 3-97

63-9 257 95 38 1-55

64-7 28-5 97 38 1-62

57-0 207 90 32 5-25

51-7 19-2 82 29 6-56

39-3 10-3 73 9 8-69

36-3 8-9 58 8 9-43

48-9 17-3 97 -13 66-85

22-3 14-6 56 -27 0-75

24'3 17-4 64 -27 1-26

38-1 22-0 69 -5 0-63

48-2 23-1 75 24 0-50

56-8 22-9 86 26 1-45

63-6 27-4 101 39 1-49

68-8 28'3 101 44 1-42

68-3 29-4 97 39 0-53

57-1 25-0 87 31 1-00

47-7 18-2 82 16 0-72

33-3 12-3 65 -22 1-00

29-0 11-3 56 -17 0-80

46-5 21-0 101 -27 11-55

or other public works. The income tax is on a sliding Government.-—The province is governed by a lieutenant-governor, buildings and all taxes are subject to a discount of about £ of 1 per appointed by the governor-general in council for five years, but scale, on payment being made before a specified date. In 1899 subject to removal for cause, an executive council of five ministers, cent, fairly close estimate was made of the capital invested in the and a single legislative chamber. The executive council is appointed aprovince, which amounted to $307,385,000, including, timbei, by the lieutenant-governor on the advice of the first minister, and $100 000,000 railways and telegraphs, $47,500,000 ; mining plant retains office so long as it enjoys the support of a majority of the and smelters,; $10,500,000 legislature. The powers of the lieutenant-governor m regaid to provincial assessments, $51,500,000 the provincial Government are analogous to those ot the governor- $280,000,000. . ., „ , , . „ 10.0 general in respect of the Dominion Government. _ . number of letters mailed in British Columbia forl898 The British North America Act (1867) confederating the colonies, wasPostal.—The 6,700,000 ; of post cards, 525,000 ; registered letters 165,000 ; defines the jurisdiction of the provincial legislature as distinguished free letters, parcels, periodicals, &c., from that of the federal parliament, but within its own jurisdiction 836,000. 156,000 ; transient newspapers, „ „, _, ,. the province makes the laws for its own governance. The Act ot Mining is the principal industry of British Columbia, llie the legislature may be disallowed, within one year of its passage, country is rich in gold, silver, copper, and coal, and has some laige by the governor-general in council, and is also subject to challenge iron deposits. From 1888 to 1898 the mining output increased from as to its legality in the Supreme Court of Canada, or on appeal by $2,608,803 to $10,906,861. the judicial committee of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom. For 1897-98 the figures are :—By 1900 it had reached $16,344,751. Justice.—There is a supreme court of British Columbia presided over by a chief justice and five puisne judges, a,nd there are smalldebt courts for amounts up to $100. In British Columbia the Supreme Court has jurisdiction in divorce cases, this right having $643,346 $513,520 Gold placer been invested in the colony before confederation. 2,201,217 2,122,820 Gold lode Religion.— 1891 the population was divided by creeds into— 2,375,841 3,272,836 Silver. Church of England, 23,619; Methodist, 14,298 ; Presbyterian, 874,781 266,258 Copper 15 284 ; Roman Catholic, 20,843 ; other denominations, 21,031 ; 1,077,581 1,390,517 Lead. 3,407,595 not stated, 3098 ; total, 98,173. These figures are now much 2,648,562 Coal. larger but there is no reason to suppose that the proportions bave 175,000 89,155 Coke . materially changed. Except in the cities a large proportion of the 151,500 151,600 Other materials religious work of the province is performed by the aid ol the missionary societies of England. ^ $10,906,861 ,455,268 Total. Education.—The educational system of British Columbia differs slightly from that of other provinces of Canada. There are three Between 1858—the year of the placer discoveries on the Fraser classes of schools—common, graded, and high—all maintained by the Government, and all free and undenominational. There is no river and in the Cariboo district—and 1882 the placer yields were university, and only one collegiate cstabliffiment—thc^ Methodist much heavier than in subsequent years, running from one to nearly college at Vancouver — and that is affiliated with the M Gill four million dollars annually, but there was no quartz mining. _ At present time the greater part of the return is from lode mining, University in Montreal. The schools are controlled by trustees the the use of hydraulic plant has produced a fair proportion and selected by the ratepayers of each school district, and there is a though superintendent of education acting under the provincial secretary. promises to be still more productive, gravel beds of apparent richness In 1899 there were 280 schools in operation, the expenditure tor having been recently discovered in many districts. The Kootenay educational purposes proper being $268,653, m addition to $67,362 districts are at present the chief centres of vein-mining, yielding treemilling gold quartz, auriferous and cupriferous pyrrhotites, as at spent by the public works department on school buildings Finance Under the terms of union with Canada, British Columbia Rossland, and large quantities of silver-bearing lead ores Ores ot and the precious metals are being prospected and worked in tbe receives an annual subsidy of $242,689. This with provincial taxes copper e boundary district, and also in several places along the coast and on on real property, personal property, income ^ 18 Island. The mining laws are liberal, and being based land, timber dues, &c., amounted m the year ^ to $1,581,638. Vancouver The expenditure for the year was $2,156,473. The deficit, how- on the experience gained in the adjacent mining centres ot tne 1 ever was due to special expenditure. The gross debt of the Accurate returns of these materials being unobtainable, the figures province in 1899 was $8,243,083, with assets $5,480,248 or a net given are estimated. debt of $2,762,835. These assets do not include new legislative
 * municipal assessments, $45,000,000 ;
 * in addition to private wealth,
 * °J