Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 16.djvu/460

* PKINCE EDWARD ISLAND. 398 PRINCES OF THE TOWER. ley and buclvwlieat are grown. Fruit does not flourish so well as in Xova Scotia. The island has long been noted for its large pro- duction of eggs. Dairy farming is growing in prominence. Stock, especially cattle, are in- creasing in numbers. Prince Edward Island is extremely poor in minerals. Coal exists, but not under conditions which have made min- ing profitable. The neighboring waters abound in fish of many varieties, and the location of the island is most favored for fishing, yet the people have not engaged as extensively in the industry as have the populations in the sister provinces. In ISOil. however, the catch was estimated at over .$1,000,000. the lobster fisheries constituting nearly one-half of the amount. Manufactures are not important, and are principally for domes- tic wants. Butter and cheese factories number 30 and 40 respectively and are constantly increas- ing in importance. The Prince Edward Island Railway, which runs the length of the island, was built by the Domin- ion Government, by whom it is still owned and operated. All parts of the island are traversed by coach-roads. Regular water communication is maintained with the maritime provinces and Boston, except during the cold months, at which time navigation is impossible for the ordinary steamer. The Government has constructed a special boat which keeps up communication with New Brunswick throughout the winter. The colonial government is vested in a Lieu- tenant-Governor, an executive council appointed by the Lieutenant-Governor, and a legislative assembly consisting of a single house whose mem- bers are elected by the people. The Province re- ceives an annual subsidy from the Dominion, which constitutes nearly two-thirds of the total Government revenue. In 1001 the amount was .$19ti.n.Tl. The island is divided into tliree counties — Prince, Queens, and Kings — of which the chief towns are respectively Summerside, t'harlottetown. and Georgetown. But most of the local atl'airs are in the hands of the provincial assembly. PopuL.iTlON. The population decreased be- tween 1891 and 1901' from 109.0T8 to 10.3.259. The density [3er square mile (.50) is the highest for any Canadian province. This is true also of the average size of family (5.6.) The inhabitants are of Britisli origin. Charlottetown. the capital, had a population of 12,080 in 1900. The strong- est religious denominations are, in their order: the Roman Catholic, Presbyterian, Jlethodist. Anglican, and Baptist. Anglican episcopal au- thority over the province is exercised by the Lord IJishop of Xova Scotia, and Roman Catholic by the Bishop of Charlottetown. The free school system was established in 1851, and the schools are supported by Government grants and district assessments. The system is administered by a superintendent and council appointed by the Government. There is an average annual enroll- ment of 13.000 pupils, the expenditure for 1900 being about $7.50 per enrolled child, of which amount the Government grants were nearly three- fourths. The island is supposed to have been seen by Cabot in 1497. It came with Canada into English hands in 1763. The Legislature of Prince Edward Island at first declined to agi-ee to the plan for a union of the British Xorth American colonies which resulted from the negotiations begun in 1864; but at last, in 1873, the colony entered the confederation and became one of the provinces of the Dominion. Consult Campljell, History of Prince Edward Isl- and (Charlottetown. 1875). PRINCE OF WALES, Cape. See Cape Pkince of Wales. PRINCE OF WALES ISLAND. An island belonging to the Straits Settlements. See Pe- KAXG. PRINCE PRETTYMAN. A character in the Duke of Buckingham's farce The Rehearsal. He is in love with Cbiris, and appears sometimes as a fisherman and sometimes as a prince. He is a parodv on Leonidas in Drvden's Marriage a la Mode. PRINCE RUPERT'S DROPS. Drops of glass thrown, when melted, into water, and thus suddenly consolidated. They have usually a form somewliat resembling a tadpole. The tliick end may be subjected to smart hammering on an anvil without its breaking; but if the smallest fragment of the tail be nipped off, the whole flies into fine dust with almost explosive violence. The phenomenon is due to the state of strain in the interior of the mass of glass, caused by the sudden consolidation of the crust. PRINCE'S-FEATHER. An annual plant. See Amaranth. PRINCE'S ISLANDS. A group of nine small islands, anciently called Demonesi, in the Sea of Marmora, 13 miles southeast of Constanti- nople. There are several monasteries on the islands, a theological seminary of the Greek Church, and a naval college. A favorable climate and fine scenery have made the grou]) a popular place of resort. An earthquake in 1894 caused great destruction of life and property. Prince's Islands are of considerable historic importance. The population is estimated at about 10.000, though but four of the islands are inhabited. . PRINCES OF THE TOWER. The name given to Edward V. (q.v. ) of England and his brother, Richard, Duke of York, the sons of Ed- ward IV. (q.v.). In May, 1483, they were seized by their uncle, Richard, Duke of Gloucester (see RiCH.^RD III.), and imprisoned in the Tower of London, while Gloucester was recognized by the Royal Council as Protector. The fate of the princes is a mystery. .4t first it was rumored that they had been murdered, although later they were popularly sup]iosed to have been exiled. After twenty years Sir James Tyrrell alleged that on the refusal of Braekenbury, Constable of the Tower, to murder the princes at Richard's in- stigation, he himself with two servants had smothered them in their sleep. The testimony of Tyrrell, a notorious blackguard, in the reign of Henry VII. (q.v.), the enemy and successor of Richard, is by no means above suspicion. In the reign of Charles II. two skeletons were found at the foot of a staircase of the White Tower, and were buried in Westminster Abbey as the re- mains of the two princes. Here again the evidence is weak. The popular prejudice against their uncle in the Tudor reigns, perpetuate in great part by the pathetic scenes in Shakespeare's Rieh- ard the Third, are doubtless responsible for the attribution to Richard of a crime which has never been proved.