Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 20.djvu/183

Rh QUEBEC 167 refining, boat-building, brewing and distilling, and the manufac- ture of edge tools, india-rubber goods, and boots and shoes. In 1871 the amount invested in industries in the province was $28,071,868; in 1881 it reached $59,216,992, when 85,673 men, women, and children were employed in the various industries, $18,333,162 were paid out in wages, raw material to the value of $62,563,967 was consumed, and the value of the articles produced was $104,662,258. j s. tensive and valuable, particularly those of the St Lawrence, which consist principally of cod, haddock, holibut, salmon, mackerel, shad, white fish, herrings, lobsters, and seals. In the lakes and rivers there are salmon, trout, and bass, and the sporting streams are among the best in the world. The right of fishing in inland waters belongs to the owners of the lands in front of or through which such waters flow. The provincial government holds a large number of ungranted lands bordering on rivers and lakes, and derives an income from the leasing of fishing privileges. A fish- breeding establishment is maintained by the Dominion Govern- ment at Tadousac, from which there are encouraging results. In 1881 there were 110 vessels and 801 men and 4779 boats and 6929 men engaged in the fisheries. The product netted in 1882 was $1,976,515 ; in 1883 it was $2,138,997. ne. Game is plentiful in Quebec (wild duck, teal, wild geese, part- tridges, woodcocks, snipe, pigeons, plover, &c.). About 295 dif- ferent birds exist. Of wild animals the principal are bears, wolves, cariboo, deer, lynxes, foxes, musk rats, minks, martens, squirrels, beavers, and hares. leral Gold, iron, and copper ores abound in notable quantities. The former is found chiefly on the banks of the Chaudiere in the county e. of Beauce. In 1881 the quantity produced was 3411 oz. ; in 1883 the product was 7902 oz., realizing $140,262. Copper is obtained in the eastern townships, and iron of superior quality abounds almost everywhere throughout the province. In 1881 the yield of this ore was 11,326 tons ; of iron, 92,001 ; pyrites, 2300 ; peat, 14,597 ; plumbago, 270 ; mica, 4000 tons ; building stone for dress- ing, 1,674,362 cubic feet; roofing slate, 4593 squares. In some sections small quantities of lead are found. a- Good waggon roads intersect the province wherever there is a lica- settlement. In 1883 the amount expended on colonization roads i. by the local government was $71,392. Telegraphic lines are established throughout the province, each line of railway, besides the great roads, having special wires. The postal facilities are excellent, and regular mails penetrate every part. Railway com- munication is ample and extensive, the chief lines being the Grand Trunk, the Canadian Pacific, and the Intercolonial. In 1884 Quebec had 1942 miles of railways in operation, while other lines are under construction and projected. The canal system is very complete, and commerce is greatly helped by the several water- ways in operation. These are the Lachine Canal extending from Montreal to Lake St Louis ; the Beauharnois Canal, uniting Lakes St Francis and St Louis ; the Chambly Canal uniting Lake Cham- plain with the Eichelieu river ; and the Carillon and Grenville Canal. >ula- The province is divided into sixty-three counties, with a total i. area of 120,764,651 acres. Up to the 30th of June 1883 the total superficies of disposable lands surveyed and subdivided into farm lots was 6,539,160 acres. The population was 1,191,516 in 1871 ; in 1881 it was 1,359,027 (678,175 males and 680,852 females). The prevailing religion is that of the Roman Catholic Church, of which there are seven dioceses, viz., the archdiocese of Quebec, and the dioceses of Montreal, Three Rivers, St Hyacinthe, Sherbrooke, Rimouski, and Chicoutimi. The Protestant dioceses are two in number Quebec and Montreal. According to the census of 1881 the religious denominations in the province were as follows : Church of Rome 1,170,718 Church of England 68,797 Presbyterians 50,287 Methodists 39,220 Baptists 8,853 Conffregationalists 5,244 UniversaKsts 2,021 Aclventists 4,210 Other denominations 5,647 Of no religion 432 No creed stated 2,609 Jews 989 Total 1,359,027 The greater portion of the population is composed of French- speaking people, natives of the soil. There are also a good many Scotch, English, and Irish, and their descendants. The Indians, mostly of the Algonquin, Iroquois, Huron, Abenakis, and Micmac tribes, number 7515, scattered in various parts of the province on reservations which they cultivate with more or less assiduity. They are peaceably disposed, and live in harmony. ninis- The affairs of the province are administered by a lieutenant - ion. governor and an executive council composed of six members with portfolios, assisted by a legislative assembly of sixty-five members, and a legislative council of twenty-four councillors. The latter hold their appointments for life, and the former are elected by the people every five years. The lieutenant-governor is appointed by the governor-general in council. Quebec returns to the Dominion House of Commons sixty-five representatives, and twenty -four appointees to the Dominion Senate. The public revenue in 188.3 amounted to $4,655,757, and the Finance, expenditure was $3,962,015. The principal source of revenue is the annual subsidy granted to the province, under the terms of the B.N.A. Act of 1867, by the Dominion Government. This subsidy in 1883 amounted to $959,252, and interest on trust funds in the hands of the Dominion Government, $55,459. The remainder of the revenue is derived from the crown domain and timber limits, licences, stamps on law and registration documents, and other mis- cellaneous receipts. The administration of justice cost in 1883 the sum of $372,400. The judiciary consists of a Court of Queen's Bench, with a chief justice and five assistants ; a superior court, with a chief justice and twenty-eight assistants ; a court of review, with three judges forming a quorum ; a court of vice-admiralty ; courts of quarter sessions ; and courts for the summary trial of petty causes. The provincial legislature meets at Quebec. The militia (military districts Nos. 5, 6, and 7, operating under Militia, the Canada Militia Act of 1883) consists of an active force by arms of the following : cavalry, officers and men, 448 ; field artillery, 321 ; garrison artillery, 593 ; engineers, 87 ; infantry, 9885 ; rifles, 924; total, 12,258. The number of iictive militia men authorized for annual drill during 1883 was 7965. Schools of cavalry and gunnery, situated at Quebec, and one of infantry at St John's, have been established for the purpose of training officers and non-com- missioned officers of the militia. Education in Quebec is under the control of a superintendent Educa- and a council of public instruction appointed by the Government, tion. The council is divided into two sections, called Roman Catholic and Protestant committees, who act independently, and, through the superintendent, control the Roman Catholic and Protestant institu- tions respectively. The province is divided into school municipali- ties containing from one to twenty-five schools each, under five commissioners elected by the people. As the school system includes religious instruction, the religious minority (Catholic or Protestant) in any municipality may separate from the majority, and organize schools of their own, under three trustees, and receive their proper share of the Government grant. Every citizen pays a tax which is levied on his property for the support of primary schools. In Montreal, Quebec, and Sherbrooke the Roman Catholics and Pro- testants are entirely separate for educational purposes. Thirty-six inspectors visit the schools twice a year, and report to the Govern- ment, by whom they are appointed and paid. In 1883 there were in the province 1071 municipalities, including 4404 elementary schools, 333 model schools, 246 academies, 31 colleges, 18 special schools, 3 normal schools, and 3 universities, making a total of 5038 institutions, attended by 245,225 pupils, under 6871 teachers. In support of these schools, the local contributions amounted to $2,809,739, and the Government grant to $352,677. The two Pro- testant universities are M'Gill University at Montreal, founded in 1821, and Bishops College at Lennoxville, founded in 1843. The Roman Catholic university (Laval) was founded by the Quebec seminary in 1852. It has a succursale at Montreal. The public charitable institutions receiving aid from the Govern- Charities, ment are Beauport, St Ferdinand de Halifax, and St Jean de Dieu lunatic asylums. Grants are annually made to about ninety other institutions, including industrial schools and reformatories, the total amount reaching in 1883 $301.121. The capital is QUEBEC (q.v.). The largest and most important Towns, city is MONTREAL (q.v.}. Other chief towns are Three Rivers, population 8670, so-called from the St Maurice, which here joins the St Lawrence by three mouths (it is one of the oldest cities, and the seat of a large lumber and iron trade) ; St Hyacinthe, 5321 ; Levis, 7597, where the quarantine for cattle is situated ; Sorel, 5791; St John's, 4314; St Francois, Beauce, 4181; Sher- brooke, 7227 ; Valley Field, 3906 ; Malbaie, 3014 ; Baie St Paul, 3794 ; St Henri, 6415 ; Hull, 6890 ; St Jean Baptiste, 5874. The quarantine station is at Grosse Isle, an island in the river St Lawrence, 31J miles below Quebec. It is 2^ miles long by 1 mile in width. History. Quebec was first visited by the French, under Jacques Cartier, in 1535, and a second time in 1536, though it is said that Sebastian Cabot discovered the country in 1497. The regular settlement of the province, however, was not made until 1608, when Samuel de Champlain landed at the site now occupied by Quebec city. Here he established military and trading posts, and it was not long before the new possession became the seat of the Recollet and Jesuit missions, which were zealously carried on under the most trying circumstances for nearly a century and a half. The early settlers endured countless hardships from the incursions of the Indians, and the frequent wars in which they were forced to engage with the English and Dutch. In 1759 the marquis of Montcalm was defeated at Quebec by an English army under General Wolfe. A year later the French surrendered all their important ports, and the colony passed under English rule. In 1763 the treaty of Paris was signed, by the terms of which, and the conditions laid down a few years later in the memorable Quebec Act of 1774, the French were guaranteed by England their
 * h- Quebec derives great importance from its fisheries, which are ex-