Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XIV.djvu/561

 SAINT JOHN'S SAINT JOHN THE BAPTIST 537 220 yards wide and 660 yards long, with 12 fathoms of water in mid-channel. The cliffs were formerly fortified by several batteries, but these have become dismantled since the with- drawal of the British garrison. On the S. cliff is a lighthouse, with a light 114 ft. above the sea. There are also two lights in the town serving as a guide to the harbor. The harbor is 1 m. long, and from 500 yards to a little more than m. wide. On the S. side is a dry dock capable of raising vessels of 600 tons, and a marine railway for a smaller class of vessels. The N. and S. sides are connected by a cause- way and bridge. It is open the entire year. There is regular steam communication with Europe and America, and steamers and sailing packets run to different points in the island. The trade consists chiefly in supplying the fish- ermen of Newfoundland with clothing, pro- visions, and tackle, and in exporting the pro- ducts of the fisheries, chiefly codfish, seal skins, and cod and seal oil, which are mostly taken to Great Britain, Spain, Portugal, and Brazil. Another important industry is the fitting out of vessels for the seal fishery. The value of imports during 1874 was about $6,000,000 ; of exports, about $5,000,000. The number of entrances was 898, tonnage 220,916; clear- ances, 724, tonnage 195,392. About 80 per cent, of the imports and 75 per cent, of the exports of the island pass through this port. The number of vessels engaged in the seal fishery from St. John's in 1874 was 24 (13 steamers and 11 sailing vessels), with an aggregate tonnage of 4,801 and crews number- ing 2,841 men ; number of seals taken, 150,000. The number of vessels owned at the port in 1874 was 1,319, with an aggregate tonnage of 67,185, of which 18, tonnage 5,447, were steam- ers, and 1,301, tonnage 67,185, sailing vessels. The latter are scattered throughout the island and owned or sailed by dealers or mercantile houses in St. John's. The manufactures of St. John's are of secondary importance and of lim- ited extent. The principal establishments are three founderies, three breweries, a distillery, two tanneries, a rope factory, a block factory, several manufactories of boots and shoes, sev- eral of carriages, one of cabinet ware, one of nets, four biscuit bakeries, and several oil re- fineries. There are two banks, a savings bank, and a marine insurance company. There is no municipal corporation, the town being gov- erned directly by the colonial legislature. The only local taxation is a rate levied on houses under acts of the legislature for water and sewerage. The town is well policed, and there are several volunteer fire companies. The principal charitable institutions not already mentioned are a Roman Catholic orphanage for girls, an asylum for widows and orphan girls, and another for boys, in connection with the church of England. The educational in- stitutions include St. Bonaventure college (Ro- man Catholic), a church of England, a Wesleyan, and a general Protestant academy, a Presby- terian school, an industrial school and an or- phan asylum school under the control of the benevolent Irish society, a number of common schools under the control of the government boards or of the colonial and continental church and school society, and several private schools. There are two public libraries, having together 5,000 or 6,000 volumes. The principal one is in connection with the St. John's Athenaeum (which is now erecting a large building for lectures, concerts, and other purposes), and the other with the Catholic institute. Three tri-weekly, four semi-weekly, and three week- ly newspapers are published. There are 11 churches, including the cathedrals, viz. : 3 church of England, 1 Congregational, 2 Pres- byterian (one in connection with the estab- lished and one with the Free church of Scot- land), 3 Roman Catholic, and 2 Wesleyan Methodist. The church of England has here a theological institute for the training of young men for mission work in the colony. St. John's appears to have been resorted to by fishermen (chiefly French and Spanish) in the early part of the 16th century. The harbor was entered by Sir Humphrey Gilbert in 1583, who took formal possession of the island in the name of Queen Elizabeth. The town was several times the scene of conflict between the French and English until the island came finally into the possession of the latter by the treaty of Utrecht in 1713. It has been visited by several con- flagrations, the most destructive in 1846. SAINT JOHNS (Fr. St. Jean), a town, port of entry, and the capital of St. Johns co., Quebec, Canada, 20 m. S. E. of Montreal ; pop. in 1871, 3,022. It is situated on the W. bank of the Richelieu river, here spanned by a fine bridge, and by means of canals affording a navigable connection between Lake Champlain and the river St. Lawrence. Divisions of the Grand Trunk and Central Vermont railways inter- sect here with the Southeastern and the Stan- stead, Shefford, and Chambly railways. There is a large trade in lumber, grain, and other produce. The town contains saw, grist, and planing mills, brick yards, two breweries, and manufactories of iron castings, leather, earth- enware, &c. It is the seat of a lunatic asylum, and has a bank, a branch bank, about 40 stores, commodious barracks, two weekly newspapers, and four or five churches. The value of im- ports for the year ending June 30, 1874, was $717,174; of exports, $4,873,812. SAINT JOHN THE BAPTIST, a S. E. parish of Louisiana, intersected by the Mississippi river, bordering N. W. on Lake Maurepas, N. E. on Lake Pontchartrain, and S. "W. on Lake Des Allemands; area, about 250 sq. m. ; pop. in 1870, 6,762, of whom 4,044 were colored. The surface is level and the soil fertile. The chief productions in 1870 were 106,884 bushels of Indian corn, 1,360 tons of hay, 4,962 hogs- heads of sugar, 346,100 gallons of molasses, and 632,670 Ibs. of rice. There were 337 horses, 1,570 mules and asses, 1,157 cattle, 294