Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 14.djvu/484

NEW BRUNSWICK. . Dominion, provincial, and municipal aid has greatly facilitated the construction of railways; the mileage for all lines aggregated 1438 miles in 1900. The Canadian Pacific connects the province with the railroad systems west by running west from Saint John and crossing the State of Maine. The Intercolonial enters the province from Quebec on the north and traverses the east side of the province, one branch connecting with Saint John. The position of New Brunswick on the Atlantic coast, and the large number of excellent harbors, greatly favor its commercial advantage. The foreign trade of the province passes through the port of Saint John. Regular ship lines connect this port with Atlantic coast points to the south, and with European countries. In 1900 the merchant marine consisted of 122 steamers and 805 sailing vessels, the total net tonnage being 78,700. Lumber is the chief article of export. The manufacture of lumber and of lumber products lead the manufacturing industries. Shipbuilding, which was formerly important, has been all but discontinued. The manufacture of wood-pulp, on the other hand, is assuming large proportions, and the future of the industry is assured, because the supply of spruce—the wood used for this purpose—is practically inexhaustible. In 1900 the creameries in the province numbered 33 and the cheese factories 54.

In 1900 there were 43 savings banks, with 7062 depositors and an average deposit of $353.46. In the same year there were five Government savings banks, having 15,887 depositors, with an average deposit of $396.20.

. The administration of the Government is in the hands of a Lieutenant-Governor and his council of six paid members and from one to four honorary members. The legislative body is called the House of Assembly, its forty-six members being elected for a term of four years. The legislative council was abolished in 1892. In striking contrast to some other Canadian provinces, there are no local municipal councils, the municipal affairs being managed by a county council. In this council each parish has two representatives, who serve without emolument (except in the County of Carleton), the term of office being one year. The various parish officers receive their appointments from the county council. The net debt of the province in 1900 was $2,751,000, or $8.56 per head of the population. The expenditures for the same year amounted to $794,000, and the receipts to $758,000. Over half the receipts came from the Dominion subsidy, the timber licenses being next in importance. Taxes are levied by the province upon telegraph, telephone, and insurance companies and banks. There is also a succession duty upon estates. Local expenditures are met by taxes collected upon real and personal property, income, and polls. Property is rated at its full value. The capital of New Brunswick is Fredericton.

. There is a high birth-rate in the province, but also a rather large emigration. The censuses for 1891 and for 1901 gave, respectively, 321,263 and 331,120. There is a small French element. The great bulk of the population is of British origin, the Irish especially being well represented. Saint John has a population of 40,700 (1901), and Moncton 9000.

. The Catholics number a little over

one-third of the total religious membership of New Brunswick. Among the Protestants the Baptists are strongest, followed by the Anglicans, Presbyterians, and Methodists, in the order named.

. Educational affairs are in the hands of a superintendent of education and an educational council. Unlike Quebec and Ontario, the province does not provide for separate denominational schools. There is uniformity of methods, text-books, etc., throughout the province. One in every 5.22 of the population is enrolled in the public schools, the proportion between the grammar and the elementary enrollment being one to sixty. The province also maintains normal schools and provides for higher education at the University of Fredericton. The different religious sects maintain seminaries and universities, of which Mount Allison University (Methodist) is the largest. The expenditure per capita of the total population shows a steady increase from $1.26 in 1888 to $1.88 in 1900. Of this amount, 67.94 per cent. is raised by local assessment.

Of the charitable institutions, the asylums for the insane constitute the greatest item of expenditure. The province supports also, in whole or part, a general hospital (at Saint John), a boys' industrial home, and deaf and dumb institutions. Private and sectarian interests are well represented in charitable work. Convicts sentenced to penal life are sent to the Dominion penitentiary at Dorchester.

. The first European settlement was made on the Bay of Chaleurs by Frenchmen in 1639, and in 1672 further settlements were made on the Miramichi River and along the coast. With Nova Scotia, New Brunswick formed the original French colony of Acadia or New France, which was taken by the English in 1654, restored to France in 1667, but re-ceded to the English in 1713 by the Treaty of Utrecht, although disputes as to the boundaries lasted until the Treaty of Paris in 1763 finally settled the question in favor of the British. The first British settlements were made by Scotch agriculturists and laborers along the Miramichi in 1764. In 1783 over 5000 United Empire Loyalists from the United States settled in the colony. In 1784 Nova Scotia and New Brunswick separated to form distinct colonies, and in January, 1786, the first legislative assembly of New Brunswick met at Saint John. In 1867 New Brunswick united with Ontario, Quebec, and Nova Scotia and thus became one of the original provinces of the Dominion of Canada.

. Selwyn and Dawson, Descriptive Sketch of the Physical Geography and Geology of the Dominion of Canada (Montreal, 1884); Bailey and Jack, Woods and Minerals of New Brunswick (Fredericton, 1876); Willmott, The Mineral Wealth of Canada (London, 1898); Cooney, History of New Brunswick (Halifax, 1832); Kingsford, History of Canada (London, 1887-98); Perley, On the Early History of New Brunswick (Saint Johns, 1891).  NEW BRUNSWICK. A city and the county-seat of Middlesex County, N. J., 23 miles southwest of Newark; at the head of navigation on the Raritan River, about 15 miles from its mouth, and on the Pennsylvania and the Raritan River railroads (Map:, D 3). It is the terminus of the Delaware and Raritan Canal. A magnificent new railway bridge over the river