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 water of the gulf and lower river, mackerel, cod, herring, smelt, sea-trout, striped bass and other fish are caught for market.

The St Lawrence is spanned by the following railway bridges: (1) A truss bridge built near Cornwall in 1900 by the New York & Ottawa railroad, now operated by the New York Central railroad. (2) A truss bridge with a swing, built in 1890 by the Canada Atlantic railway at Coteau Landing. (3) A cantilever bridge built in 1887 by the Canadian Pacific railway at Caughnawaga. (4) The Victoria Jubilee bridge, built as a tubular bridge by the Grand Trunk railway in 1860, and transformed into a truss bridge in 1897–1898. The new bridge rests on the piers of the old one, enlarged to receive it, is 6592 ft. long by 67 ft. wide, has 25 spans, double railway and trolley tracks, driveways and sidewalks, and was erected without interruption of traffic. (5) A very large cantilever bridge, having a central span of 1800 ft., crosses the river at a point 7 m. above Quebec. The southern half of the superstructure, while in course of erection in August 1907, fell, killing 78 men, and necessitating a serious delay in the completion of the work.

The river St Lawrence was discovered by Jacques Cartier, commissioned by the king of France to explore and trade on the American coast. Cartier entered the strait of Belle Isle in 1534; but Breton fishermen had previously resorted there in summer and penetrated as far as Brest, eleven leagues west of Blanc Sablon, the dividing line between Quebec and Labrador. Cartier circled the whole gulf, but missed the entrance to the river. On his second voyage in 1536 he named a bay on the north shore of the gulf, which he entered on the 10th of August, the feast of St Lawrence, Baye Sainct Laurens, and the name gradually extended over the whole river, though Cartier himself always wrote of the River of Canada. Early in September, he reached “Canada,” now Quebec, and on the 2nd of October reached Hochelaga, now Montreal. No permanent settlement was then made. The first, Tadousac, at the mouth of the Saguenay, was established by Champlain in 1603, and Quebec was settled by him in 1608. Between that time and 1616 Champlain explored the whole river system as far west as Lake Huron, reaching it by way of the Ottawa river, and taking possession of the country in the name of the king of France. It became British by the treaty of Paris, in 1763.

ST LEGER, SIR ANTHONY (c. 1496–1559), lord deputy of Ireland, eldest son of Ralph St Leger, a gentleman of Kent, was educated abroad and at Cambridge. He quickly gained the favour of Henry VIII., and was appointed in 1537 president of a commission for inquiring into the condition of Ireland. This work he carried out with ability and obtained much useful knowledge of the country. In 1540 he was appointed lord deputy of Ireland. His first task was to repress disorder, and he at once proceeded with severity against the Kavanaghs, permitting them, however, to retain their lands, on their accepting feudal tenure on the English model. By a similar policy he exacted obedience from the O'Mores, the O'Tooles and the O'Conors in Leix and Offaly; and having conciliated the O'Briens in the west and the earl of Desmond in the south, the lord deputy carried an act in the Irish parliament in Dublin conferring the title of king of Ireland on Henry VIII. and his heirs. Conn O'Neill, who in the north had remained sullenly hostile, was brought to submission by vigorous measures. For the most part, however, St Leger's policy was one of moderation and conciliation-rather more so, indeed, than Henry VIII. approved. He recommended The O'Brien, when he gave token of a submissive disposition, for the title of earl of Thomond; O'Neill was created earl of Tyrone; and administrative council was instituted in the province of Munster; and in 1544 a levy of Irish soldiers was raised for service in Henry VIII.'s wars. St Leger's personal influence was proved by an outbreak of disturbance when he visited England in 1544, and the prompt restoration of order on his return some months later. St Leger retained his office under Edward VI., and again effectually quelled attempts at rebellion by the O'Conors and O'Byrnes. From 1548 to 1550 he was in England. He returned charged with the duty of introducing the reformed liturgy into Ireland. His conciliatory methods brought upon him the accusation that he lacked zeal in the cause, and led to his recall in the summer of 1551. After the accession of Mary he was again appointed lord deputy in October 1553, but in consequence of a charge against him of keeping false accounts he was recalled for the third time in 1556. While the accusation was still under investigation, he died on the 16th of March 1559.

By his wife Agnes, daughter of Hugh Warham, a niece cf Archbishop Warham, he had three sons, William, Warham and Anthony. William died in his father's lifetime leaving a son, Sir Warham St Leger (d. 1600), who was father of Sir William St Leger (d. 1642), president of Munster. Sir William took part in “ the flight of the earls ” (see ) in 1607, and spent several years abroad. Having received a pardon from James I. and extensive grants of land in Ireland, he was appointed president of Munster by Charles I. in 1627. He warmly supported the arbitrary government of Straiiord, actively assisting in raising and drilling the Irish levies destined for the service of the king against the Parliament. In the great rebellion of 1641 he bore the chief responsibility for dealing with the insurgents in Munster; but the forces and supplies placed at his disposal were utterly inadequate. He executed martial law in his province with the greatest severity, hanging large numbers of rebels, often without much proof of guilt. He was still struggling with the insurrection when he died at Cork on the 2nd of July 1642. Sir William's daughter Margaret married Murrough O’Brien, 1st earl of Inchiquin; his son John was father of Arthur St Leger, created Viscount Doneraile in 1703.

ST LEONARDS, EDWARD BURTENSHAW SUGDEN, (1781–1875), lord chancellor of Great Britain, was the son of a hairdresser of Duke Street, Westminster, and was born on the 12th of February 1781. After practising for some years as a conveyance, he was called to the bar at Lincoln's Inn in 1807, having already published his well-known treatise on the Law of Vendors and Purchasers (14th ed., 1862). In 1822 he was made king s counsel and chosen a bencher of Lincoln's Inn. He was returned at different times for various boroughs to the House of Commons, where he made himself prominent by his opposition to the Reform Bill of 183 2. He was appointed solicitor-general in 1829, was named lord chancellor of Ireland in 1834, and again filled the same office from 1841 to 1846. Under Lord Derby's first administration in 1852 he became lord chancellor and was raised to the peerage as Lord St Leonards. In this position he devoted himself with energy and vigour to the reform of the law; Lord Derby on his return to power in 1858 again offered him the same office, which from considerations of health he declined. He continued, however, to take an active interest especially in the legal matters that came before the House of Lords, and bestowed his particular attention on the reform of the law of property. He died at Boyle Farm, Thames Ditton, on the 29th of January 1875.