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NEWFOUNDLAND 

IN 1911. 



BY 



P. T. McGRATH. 




Plioio.'] 



H.M. KING GEORGE V. 



Lafayette. 




H.M. QUEEN MARY. 



NEWFOUNDLAND 

IN 



Being the Coronation Year of King George V* 

and 

The Opening of the Second Decade of the 
Twentieth Century* 



BY 

P. T. McGRATH, 

EDITOR OF THE" EVENING CHRONICLE," OF ST. JOHN'S, AND CLERK TO THE 
HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY OF NEWFOUNDLAND. 



WITH NUMEROUS ILLUSTRATIONS. 



PRINTED AND PUBLISHED BY WHITEHEAD, MORRIS & CO., LTD. 
9 & 10, FENCHURCH STREET, E.C. 

1911. 
[ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.] 



FOREWORD. 

By RIGHT HON. SIR EDWARD MORRIS, P.C., K.C., LL.D., 

Prime Minister of A ' eivfoundland '. 



IT affords me much pleasure to contribute a fore- 
word to this story of Newfoundland, by Mr. 
P. T. McGnATH, than whom I know of nobody in the 
country better able to do the subject the fullest justice. 
For twenty years he has been actively connected with 
its daily journalism, besides which he has won his way 9 
by his merits alone, into the foremost publications of 
the outside world, with his writings regarding New- 
foundland and other topics. 

As the Colonial correspondent, for many years past 
of the London Times, and of leading newspapers in 
Canada and the United States, he has contributed much 
towards providing the public abroad with reliable in- 
formation respecting its affairs during all this period ; 
and the fairness with which he has presented even the 
most controversial topics, the accuracy of his information, 
the wide range of matters on which he is recognized in 
the colony as an authority, and his rareJy equaUed 
knowledge of its public affairs, should make this volume 
of his a standard work. 

As a frequent contributor to such periodicals as the 
Nineteenth Century and the Fortnightly Review in 
England ; and to the North American Review, the 



Atlantic Monthly, and the Review of Reviews in America, 
he has come to be recognized, and rightly, as an 
authoritative commentator on its international problems, 
while his articles on less serious subjects are also promi- 
nent and frequent in the magazines of Britain and 
America. 

In his capacity as Clerk of the House of Assembly, 
or Elective Branch of the Newfoundland Legislature, 
which position he has occupied for several years, he has 
gained a knowledge of the country's affairs which has 
helped much to assist him in making this publication so 
full and complete that it may be regarded as the last 
word in relation to the Island's progress. 

To this task he has brought the resources of a ready 
pen and a well-stored mind, and while desirous of pre- 
senting his country's record to the world in becoming 
guise, he recognizes that it has suffered in the past from 
exaggerated statements as well as from terms of 
depreciation ; and so he has been studiously moderate in 
his portrayal of its resources and possibilities. 

I am confident that all who peruse this volume will 
feel that Newfoundland has become more of a reality to 
them than heretofore, and that its material interests will 
be advanced by the story he has told of its past progress 
and its future prospects. 

E. P. MORRIS. 

LONDON, 
CORONATION DAT, 1911. 



PREFACE. 

HPHE coronation time of a " Sailor King " seems a 
fitting occasion for the issue of a volume relating to 
Britain's Oldest Colony the one, moreover, which saw 
the beginning of her greatness upon the seas. Our 
present gracious Sovereign visited Newfoundland twice, 
and was afforded each time ample evidences of the loyalty 
and devotion of its people to the British Crown, which 
will naturally be intensified among a maritime people, 
when their Monarch is one whose fidelity to his sea- 
faring career has been conspicuous, and who can thus all 
the more appreciate the record of the most ancient and 
loyal Colony as the nursery of England's naval 
institutions. 

The story of Newfoundland for four centuries is a 
chapter from the annals of England's growing empire 
upon the sea. Discovered in 1497, it was by 1511 well 
known throughout England and Western Europe. A 
century later, in 1610, the first permanent settlement on 
its shores was essayed by daring voyagers from Bristol. 
In yet another century, in 1714, the first George was 
crowned, following the Treaty of Utrecht, which wrested 
from the French the part of the Island they had come to 
occupy meanwhile. Almost a century again, in 1818, 
the Americans were granted fishing liberties on part of 
the seaboard. The coronation of the fifth George this 



6 

year sees the Island rid for all time of French and 
American claims to fishing rights on portions of its 
coastline. 

The Colony's laws, records, customs and traditions 
all smack of the sea. Its earliest rulers were " fishing 
admirals/' the captain of the first ship arriving here 
annually being admiral for the year, the second vice- 
admiral, and the third rear-admiral, a crude and make- 
shift method that still survives in the admirals of the 
North Sea fishing fleet. Following these came naval 
controllers and floating surrogates, who in their tarn 
gave place to governors, all of them warship captains or 
admirals who only spent the fishing season in the 
Island until 1825, when the first permanent resident 
governor was appointed. Even until to-day, as is 
natural in a country whose fisheries are her chief 
reliance, all other matters are overshadowed by those 
which relate to the harvesting of its finny wealth. 

Of late years, the Colony has been developing sub- 
stantial interests along other lines, however, and the 
utilization of its farm and mine and forest resources, 
has tended to create industrial agencies that, while still 
subsidiary to the fisheries, will yet, in the aggregate, 
make them a substantial competitor thereto in the years 
to come. Its attractions as a sporting and health resort 
have also been made more widely known in recent times, 
and the future promises to see Newfoundland attain a 
degree of prosperity once supposed impossible, and its 
people secure for the fruits of their arduous labours a 
more generous return, to which the hardships and 
hazards of their main avocation manifestly entitle them. 



In these days when Imperial interests are being so 
assiduously promoted, and mutual enlightenment as to 
the Motherland and the Overseas possessions is 
encouraged, it may not be amiss to point to its other 
natural resources and capabilities, apart from its fisheries. 
I have therefore devoted special attention to these 
features and to an account of its possibilities for the 
settler and the capitalist seeking opportunities of 
developing industrial enterprise, while the record of its 
financial progress during the past fifteen years will show 
how certain and stable has been its material betterment. 

The opportunities which twenty years' active par- 
ticipation in the journalism and public affairs of the 
Colony have afforded me of becoming familiar with the 
subject, are my warrant for offering this volume to the 
public, which I hope may help to make the Oldest 
Colony more widely known and better understood. 

P. T. McGRATH. 

ST. JOHN'S, 

NEWFOUNDLAND. 

May, 1911. 



TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

PAGE 
CHAPTER I. 15 

GENERAL SUMMARY. 

Geographical Geological Physiographical Natural 
History Economic Resources Climate. 

CHAPTER II. 23 

THE COLONY'S NEW ERA. 

Reid Contract What it has developed New Industrial 
Departures Enterprise of Outports Wide-spread Pros- 
perity. 

CHAPTER III. 29 

THE MAN OF THE HOUR. 

The Present Premier Record of Sir Edward Morris 

Notable among Colonial Statesmen Progressive Policy 

inaugurated by him. 

CHAPTER IV. 36 

HISTORICAL SKETCH. 

Discovery by Cabot Annexation by Gilbert French 

Aggression Settlement Discouraged Unjust Laws 

Fishing Admirals Better Days. 

CHAPTER V. 47 

THE ABORIGINES. 

The Beothics Racial Characteristics Decimated by 
Settlers Attempts at Conciliation Last Red Men 

Vanish. 

CHAPTER VI. 

ROADS AND RAILWAYS. 51 

Coast alone Peopled Settlers all Fisherfolk Permanent 

Occupation Forbidden No Roads until 1825 Progress 

since then. 



10 

PAGE 
CHAPTER VII. 57 

THE REID PROBLEM AND RECENT POLITICAL 
DEVELOPMENT. 

Election of 1900 Contract of 1901 Arbitrations- 
Election of 1904 Bond-Morris Rupture of 1907 Unique 
Political Complication Morris Ministry wins. 

CHAPTER VIII. 64 

THE REID ENTERPRISES. 

Railway System Splendid Steamers Dry Dock and 

Machine and Car Shops Street Railway and Electric 

Utilities Traffic Figures. 

CHAPTER IX. 70 

CROWN LANDS. 

Laws respecting Crown Lands Conditions for 
obtaining same Generous Concessions for intending 
Settlers or Investors. 

CHAPTER X. 77 

LUMBERING. 

Forest Wealth Potential Value Grades of Lumber 
How Industry has Developed Favourable Future 

Outlook. 

CHAPTER XI. 83 

THE PULP AND PAPER INDUSTRY. 

Harmsworth Mills Albert Reed Mills World's Records 
Broken Possibilities yet unrealized. 

CHAPTER XII. 92 

ISLAND'S ADVANTAGES FOR PAPER-MAKING. 

Why this Industry was introduced Factors aiding its 
success Figures of Production last year. 

CHAPTER XIII. 98 

MINERAL RESOURCES. 

The Mining Industry Copper Zone and Output Great 
Variety of Mineral Products obtained. 



11 

PAGE 

CHAPTER XIV. 105 

IRON AND COAL. 

Wonderful Iron Mines Among the World's Richest 

Deposits A Million Tons Yearly Coal Beds and 

Prospects. 

CHAPTER XV. 112 

AGRICULTURE. 

Old-Time Hostile Policy Fertile Areas Quality of 
Soil Variety of Products Prospects of livelihood for 
Thousands 

CHAPTER XVI. 119 

NEW FARMING POLICY. 

Premier Morris advocates Farming Agricultural Experts 
visit Colony Directions in which progress is possible. 

CHAPTER XVII. 127 

THE COD AND INSHORE FISHERIES. 

Value of Fisheries Number engaged therein Enormous 
catch of Cod Lesser Fisheries described. 

CHAPTER XVIII. 137 

THE SEAL AND WHALE FISHERIES. 

Seal Herds and their Characteristics Growth of Seal 
Hunt Modern Whaling and its Commercial Features. 

CHAPTER XIX. 144 

THE FRENCH SHORE QUESTION. 

Fishery Treaties French Claims Disputes between 
Nations Why France Withdrew. 

CHAPTER XX. 152 

ST. PIERRE. 

A bit of old France History of St. Pierre Importance 
of its Cod Fishery The effect of the Bait Act Its 
unpromising Future. 



12 

PAGE 
CHAPTER XXI. 158 

THE NORTH ATLANTIC FISHERIES DISPUTE. 

Fishery Rights of Americans Reciprocity and Fishery 
Treaties Newfoundland's Uncompleted Conventions 
The Hague Arbitration and Award. 

CHAPTER XXII. 169 

THE LABRADOR PENINSULA. 

Great Fishing Centre Mineral and Woodland 
Possibilities Sporting and Scenic Attractions 
Grenfell Deep-Sea Mission. 

CHAPTER XXIII. 179 

CLIMATE AND SCENERY. 

Delightful Climate of Newfoundland Unrivalled Scenic 
Attractions Testimony of Eminent Visitors A coming 
Health Resort. 

CHAPTER XXIV. 188 

A SPORTSMAN'S PARADISE. 

Hunting and Fishing Attractions for Tourist and 
Health Seeker Game Paradise of Sportsmen 
Game Laws. 

CHAPTER XXV. 199 

As A SUBMARINE CABLE CENTRE. 

Laying of First Atlantic Cable Fifty-year Exclusive 

Privilege Incoming of other Cables Dispute with 

Commercial Cable Company. 

CHAPTER XXVI. 205 

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE PEOPLE. 

Saxon and Celtic Stock No Aborigines Crimeless 
Record of the Colony Advanced Temperance Legis- 
lation Social Conditions. 

CHAPTER XXVII. 211 

GOVERNMENTAL. 

Form of Government Legislature Powers of its Con- 
stituent Factors Administrative Department. 



13 

PAGE 
CHAPTER XXVIII. 222 

POPULATION AND TRADE. 

Population Religions Occupations Trade and Indus- 
tries. 

CHAPTER XXIX. 230 

EDUCATION. 

First Schools Denominational System Adopted How 
it has worked Council of Higher Education. 

CHAPTER XXX. 236 

ST. JOHN'S AND RETROSPECT. 

Progress during Past Century Growth of St. John's. 
The Island's Metropolis and Commercial Emporium. 

CHAPTER XXXI. 242 

PROSPERITY OF NEWFOUNDLAND. 

Growth in all Directions Amazing Progress of Past 
Decade Value for Public Debt Splendid Outlook for 

Future. 

CHAPTER XXXII. 247 

THE MORRIS GOVERNMENT'S WORK. 

Comprehensive Programme Successful Administration 
Colony Prospering Outlook most favourable. 

APPENDIX. 255 

Statistical Tables. 

Game Laws. 

Fire Patrol Regulations. 

Customs Regulations. 

List of Registered Guides. 

Ocean and Local Steamship Services. 



15 

NEWFOUNDLAND 

IN 1911. 
CHAPTER I. 



GEOGRAPHICAL GEOLOGICAL PHYSIOGRAPHICAL 

NATURAL HISTORY ECONOMIC RESOURCES 

CLIMATE. 

THE Island of Newfoundland lies between the 
parallels of 46 degrees 36 minutes and 51 
degrees 39 minutes North latitude, and between the 
meridians of 52 degrees 37 minutes and 59 degrees 24 
minutes West longitude. It is known as " the Norway 
of the New World " because of its scenic beauties, and as 
" the sentinel of the St. Lawrence " because it forms the 
Laurentian Gulf, lying athwart that vast body of water, 
access to which is only obtained through Belle Isle 
Strait ten miles wide which separates Newfoundland 
from Labrador on the North, and through Cabot Strait 
sixty miles wide which divides it from Nova Scotia 
on the South. 

The Island is the tenth largest in the world ; is very 
irregular in shape, with a general outline somewhat 
like a triangle ; and is bounded on the North, East 
and South by the waters of the Atlantic, and on the 
West by those of the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Its 
greatest length is about three hundred and seventeen 
miles, and its greatest breadth about the same. The 
great sailing circle followed by ships in crossing the 
North Atlantic impinges on its South-eastern extension, 



16 

and because of this, and of its blocking the Gulf of 
St. Lawrence, the Island enjoys a singularly important 
and valuable strategic position. 

It really is the key to the control of Canada's 
water-borne commerce, and were St. John's, the Capital, 
fortified, it could dominate the whole of the sea-going 
traffic of the "Western Ocean. St. John's is about 
midway between Liverpool and New York (1,640 miles 
from Cape Clear, in Ireland), and forms a half-way 
house for them, being a haven of refuge for most of the 
crippled crafts that navigate " the herring pond," while 
the near-by section of coast is also the landing place for 
most of the trans-Atlantic cables. It was at St. John's 
too, that Marconi received his first wireless ocean 
signals, and when the first ocean airship voyage is made 
this will probably be the land-fall or departing point. 

The area of the Island is about 46,000 square miles. 
Its coastline is of varied and in places picturesque 
character, deeply indented all round by bays and inlets, 
some with scenery striking as Norwegian fiords ; while 
so broken is its outline that the seaboard has a total 
stretch of 6,010 miles, as calculated by Professor Howley, 
the Newfoundland Geologist. 

In size it is only one-fifth smaller than England ; it 
is 11,200 miles larger than Ireland ; three times as 
large as Holland ; and twice as large as Denmark. 
Compared with its neighbours in North America it is 
twice as large as Nova Scotia, one -third larger than 
New Brunswick, and nearly equal in area with the three 
Maritime Provinces of Canada ; while it is also about 
the size of the State of New York. 

Because of its fiords it is admirably fitted as a home 
for a fishing people, for every creek and cove teems with 
fishes, and there are innumerable splendid harbours 
where not alone the toiler's smack, but the largest 
argosies of commerce can ride undisturbed by storm or 
tempest. Until recent years the Island had not a 
settlement beyond sight and sound of the ocean, since 




The Right Hon. LEWIS V. HARCOURT, M.P. * 

Raines. 




P7ioto.~l 



Mrs. LEWIS V. HARCOURT. 



[Lallte diaries. 



17 

fishing was the chief pursuit of its people, and they 
naturally located in as close proxmity to the ocean as 
possible. 

As the map shows, there are many islets around 
the coast. Belle Isle at the Eastern mouth of the strait 
of that name, is best known as the land-fall of Canadian 
shipping in the summer months. Notre Dame Bay is 
thickly dotted with land-masses, some of moderate size. 
In Bonavista Bay there are many others. Trinity Bay 
has Random Island, one of the largest. In Conception- 
Bay is " Bell " Island, the seat of the immense hematite 
iron deposits that supply the raw material for the 
smelters at Sydney, Cape Breton. Placentia Bay has 
Merasheen and several others. Off Burin Peninsula is 
the little French archipelago of St. Pierre-Miquelon, and 
further West are Ramea and Burgeo Islands some 
three hundred in all the former the starting point of 
the seaboard where Americans possess fishing rights 
under the treaty of 1818 ; while on the west coast, the 
Bay of Islands, as its name implies, is a fiord where 
these islets are abundant. 

Its triangular extremities are Cape Norman, on 
the north, the entrance to Belle Isle Strait, Cape Race, 
on the south-east, one of the world's greatest seaboard 
outposts ; and Cape Ray, at its south-west, the chief 
landmark of the Gulf of St. Lawrence route. Other 
headlands, scarcely less important, are Cape Spear, the 
entrance to St. John's ; Cape St. Francis, Cape Bonavista, 
Cape Freels, Cape John and Cape Bauld, on the east 
coast ; Point Riche, Cape Gregory, Cape St. George and 
Cape Anguille, on the west coast ; and Gallantry Head 
(St. Pierre), Cape Chapeau Rouge, Cape St. Mary's and 
Cape Pine, on the south coast. 

Its principal inlets are the great bays of Notre 
Dame, Bonavista, Trinity, Conception, St. Mary's, 
Placentia, Fortune, St. George's, with the lesser ones 
of Hare Bay, White Bay, Green Bay, Trepassey Bay, 
Hermitage Bay, Port-au-Port Bay, Bay of Islands, 



18 

Bonne Bay and St. John's Bay, and many others still 
smaller round the seaboard, some being bays within 
the greater indentations. Of the major Bays, Placentia 
is the largest; Conception, the most populous and 
important ; Notre Dame, the most mineralised ; and 
St. George's the most fertile. 

Perhaps its most striking physical features are the 
peninsulas which jut out from its main structure the 
Avalon Peninsula on the eastern coast, which is almost 
another island, the isthmus between Trinity and 
Placentia Bays being only three miles wide ; Burin 
Peninsula, between Placentia and Fortune Bays, Port- 
au-Port Peninsula on the west coast, and the great 
Northern Peninsula, formerly termed by the Erench the 
Petit Nord and more recently known as the St. Barbe 
Peninsula, as it forms the political district so designated. 

Since the contour of the Island represents a slightly 
inclined plane, rising from the east towards the west 
and south coasts, the principal rivers flow to the 
eastern bays; and among these are the Exploits (the 
largest in the Island), 200 miles long and navigable for 
30 miles, draining an area of 4,000 square miles ; the 
Gander, 100 miles long and with its tributaries draining 
a similar area ; the Gambo, sixty miles long ; and the 
Terra Nova, somewhat larger ; all well wooded and the 
scene of lumbering industries, while there are two large 
paper mills on the banks of the Exploits. Along the 
south coast the rivers are smaller, but on the west 
coast are the Humber, 80 miles long, the St. George's, 
Hawke's and others. 

The principal bodies of water are Grand Lake, 
56 miles long by 5 broad and 200 square miles in 
area ; Bed Indian Lake, 37 miles long by 2 broad and 
67 square miles in area ; Deer Lake, 15 miles long ; 
Gander, Gambo, Terra Nova, George IV., and others ; 
while lesser areas, locally termed " ponds," bespread the 
interior, and many of them are without names even 
now, so incomplete has been its exploration. 



19 

The general character of the surface of the Island 
Is hilly, but no marked elevations are reached. The 
mountain ranges extend north and south, and the 
principal is the Long Range Mountain, which begins at 
Cape Ray and continues north-east for 200 miles, its 
highest peaks being about 2,000 feet. The cross- 
country railroad ascends to 1,730 feet to traverse this 
" backbone " of the Island and reach the western slopes. 
A lesser range, the Anguille Mountain, fronts the 
western coast of St. George's Bay, its summits reaching 
about 1,900 feet ; and at Bay of Islands is found the 
loftiest elevation in the Island Bloniidon Mountain 
2,085 feet. Others are the LaPoile Mountains, which 
stretch along the head of La Poile Bay ; the Middle 
Range stretching through the Island from Fortune 
Bay to Notre Dame Bay ; Black River Range, on the 
west side of Placentia Bay; and the West and East 
Avalon Ranges, intersecting that peninsula. There 
are hill-ranges elsewhere and isolated peaks, from one 
of which, inland from the bottom of Conception Bay, 
called " Centre Hill," over 1,000 feet high, can be seen 
on a clear day, Fortune, Placentia, Conception, Trinity 
and Bonavista Bays, and 150 lakes ; while from another, 
known as " Spread Eagle Peak," inland from St. Mary's 
Bay, and 1,200 feet high, may be seen the waters of 
Placentia, St. Mary's, Trinity and Conception Bays, and 
the Atlantic Ocean east of Cape Race, besides 67 lakes. 

The geology of the Island is comparatively simple, 
ranging from the Laurentian to the carboniferous, by 
far the greatest part of its physical structure being 
composed of Archaean, Carnbro- Silurian, Silurian and 
Carboniferous formations, in which most of the world's 
metallic wealth occurs. In Newfoundland the tangible 
evidences of this already appear in the numerous 
mineralized areas shown to exist, not a few of which 
have yielded generous instalments of their merchantable 
deposits for the enrichment of those concerned in their 
development. 



20 

The more recent geological formations do not 
appear, except in the form of glacial debris and clay 
deposits, due to the disintegration of the rocks, while 
peat occupies much of the surface, especially in the 
less-wooded sections of the interior. 

In considering the data supplied elsewhere in this 
volume as to the Island's mining possibilities, it is 
important to clearly understand at the outset, that the 
interior has scarcely been prospected at all, and even 
the seaboard only partly so, because the people are 
fishers and not miners, and have not generally taken 
seriously to the quest for minerals. 

The geological survey of the Island, begun in 1864, 
under the late Alexander Murray, C.M.G., and continued 
up till now under James Howley, F.G.S., has acquired 
vast reliable information respecting the agricultural, 
mineral and forest wealth of the Island. These officials 
and their assistants explored much of the untraversed 
interior, making topographical surveys in combination 
with their geological work, and thus securing permanent 
records of the surface features, traversing the arable 
areas, forest country, and many sections exhibiting 
evidences of mineral deposits. As long ago as 1760, 
Capt. Cook, the famous navigator, found coal on the 
western slopes. In 1842 Mr. J. B. Jukes, an eminent 
Irish geologist, was sent to Newfoundland by the 
Imperial Government to investigate and report upon 
coal areas known to exist, and in 1858, Sir William 
Logan, the eminent Canadian geologist, predicted that 
Newfoundland would yield vast mineral wealth. 

The fauna of the Island is similar to that of the 
neighbouring portions of Canada. The principal wild 
animals are the caribou, black and brown bear, wolf, 
lynx and fox (black, grey and silver), beaver, otter, 
martin, muskrat, Arctic and American hare. The birds 
include numerous varieties of wild fowl as well as the 
game birds common in Eastern Canada. Nearly 250 
species of birds are found in the Island, and nearly all 



21 

are migratory. Tlie chief are the sea-eagle or " grepe," 
hawks, owls, king-fishers, raven, plover, curlew, 
ptarmigan (locally partridge), sparrow, robin, snipe, 
jays, black- duck, wild goose, gannet and loon or 
" Northern diver." The famous Newfoundland dog is 
now scarcely to be found of pure breed. 

Apart from the cod and other fisheries which make 
it one of the world's greatest fishing centres in a com- 
mercial sense, the finest trout and salmon are to be 
found in the Island ; and it is now in contemplation to 
introduce the oyster. The sea fishes are the cod, 
herring, salmon, lobster, halibut, haddock, turbot, caplin, 
squid, mackerel, plaice, sole, sturgeon, shark, sculpin, 
catfish, eel and clam. The giant squid, calamary or 
devil-fish is also found in the coast waters, and reaches 
an enormous size, the tentacles or arms, often being 
thirty feet in length. There are no reptiles in the 
Island. 

The flora is equally varied and interesting. The 
trees include the oak, elm, birch, maple, ash, pine, 
spruce, fir and hemlock. The ferns are specially 
numerous and beautiful ; while the variety of fruits is 
remarkable, these including the strawberry, raspberry, 
blackberry, blueberry, bake-apple, etc. 

The agricultural products chiefly yielded are oats, 
hay, potatoes, cabbage, turnips and fruits. Excellent 
alluvial land is found in the valleys formed by the great 
rivers, and on the west coast, plateaus where cattle and 
sheep-raising can be profitably carried on. Because, 
however, fishing has been the prime occupation hitherto, 
farming pursuits have been little practised until latterly, 
though now much more attention is bein given thereto. 

The material resources are many and varied. The 
fish wealth of the surrounding seas is unequalled any- 
where on the globe ; and the Grand Bank, 100 miles off 
the coast and extending along it for 600 miles, with a 
breadth of 200, is famous as the home of the lordly cod. 
The Island's farming products even now are one-third 



22 

of the fishery valuation, the entire yield, of course, 
being consumed locally. Its forest wealth is enormous, 
and besides the output of sawn lumber every year, forms 
the basis for the second largest paper mill in the world, 
the paper and pulp industry having been inaugurated 
here by Messrs. Harmsworth of London, followed by a 
second English concern, the Albert Reed Co., of London. 
The mineral output is likewise large, and the annual 
export of iron ore alone exceeds 1,000,000 tons, besides 
which much copper is mined and exported. 

Its hunting, game, fishing and natural attractions 
are also drawing each year increasing numbers of 
sportsmen and tourists, and developing into another 
important element of economic advantage. 

Eew countries have been so maligned as Newfound- 
land with regard to her climate. The erroneous im- 
pression is wide-spread that its shores are enveloped by 
fog in summer and engirt by ice in winter. As a 
matter of fact, St. John's, near the southern extremity., 
lies in the same latitude as Paris, and its most northern 
point, at Belle Isle Strait, is in that of Edinburgh. It 
is true the isothermal lines curve somewhat differently, 
and that the climate resembles that of Canada, and 
therefore is colder than that of European countries, but 
Newfoundland has none of the severity in its weather 
of Western Canada or even of Quebec and Ontario. 
"Winter rarely begins before the New Year or lasts 
beyond the end of March. Passenger and freight 
steamers ply to St. John's the whole year round from 
New York and from Liverpool ; the cross-country rail- 
road has maintained its service every winter without 
a retreat ; and the snow-fall is in no way comparable 
with that of the North-west Canada, Dakota, or the 
American border States, while rarely does the ther- 
mometer go below zero. 



23 



CHAPTER II. 
THE COLONY'S NEW ERA. 

THE REID CONTRACT WHAT IT HAS DEVELOPED 

NEW INDUSTRIAL DEPARTURES ENTERPRISE OF 

OUTPORTS WIDESPREAD PROSPERITY. 

THE modern and progressive era in the Island's 
history may be said to date from the conclusion of 
the much- discussed contract with the Reid Company in 
1898. The many and varied phases of activity which 
this undertaking implied meant an enormous impetus to 
the colony, and it required a man of far-seeing capacity 
and recognised reputation for achievement, as well as 
unbounded confidence in the country and in his own 
ability to promote its development, to undertake such an 
enterprise as that contract comprehended. The imme- 
diate effect of the arrangement was to ensure the 
efficient operation of the railroad, and this meant per- 
manent employment at good wages of an army of 
working-men in the various branches of this undertaking. 
Connecting with this railroad, a flotilla of eight steamers 
ensured further large employment of working people, and 
with the development of traffic the strength of this force 
was still further increased. Statistics quoted elsewhere 
in this volume will show how this traffic over the railroad 
has grown ; that of the eight steamers is not available 
in detail, but it can be stated with absolute certainty 
that this has enlarged in a still greater proportion ; so that 
at the present moment there is a call for yet another 
steamer to operate on the upper side of Notre Dame 
Bay and thence north to Belle Isle Strait. Gradually 



24 

Mr. Reid developed other activities. He established a 
sawmill at one point to provide lumber for all the needs 
of his many enterprises; opened a granite quarry at 
another place from which to obtain stone for bridge 
building and for paving the streets of St. John's; 
developed a slate area and undertook oil boring, coal 
exploration and other kindred forms of activity. He 
began the construction of a hotel in St. John's. He also 
proposed the establishment of flour mills in the Island, 
the erection of pulp and paper mills, and had many 
other projects of similar nature under consideration. 
Each year has seen a further expansion of the work of 
this concern, and a larger force of operatives on its pay- 
roll. The Reid Company is the largest paymaster in 
the Island to-day, next to the Government itself, and 
it is recognised on every hand that it is only beginning 
now to gird itself up for still further development in the 
near future. 

Sir Robert Reid has passed away, but his sons have 
taken up his work. They have lived down those feelings 
of discontent which were created a decade ago, and in 
the true light which time has allowed the contract of 
1898 to be viewed, it is seen at present that it was a 
fortunate circumstance for the colony that men of such 
undoubted financial standing and progressive ideas were 
induced to take hold of its affairs at that time. Even 
now, however, Newfoundlanders are only very imper- 
fectly realizing the great danger which the Island would 
have faced had it failed to secure the continuance of the 
Heid activities here ; for had the Reids withdrawn then, 
it is difficult to say what the outcome would have been. 
The population was largely made up of fishermen whose 
interests were centred in fish, and who lived near the 
coast for this reason. The interior was unsettled and 
capitalists had not been attracted thereto ; agriculture 
was but in its infancy ; mining scarcely attempted ; and 
the lumbering industry so little developed that lumber 
was actually imported for building purposes. 



25 

It requires no argument, therefore, to make it plain 
that to undertake the operation of a railroad system, 
steam boats, telegraphs and other forms of enterprise in 
such a country, called for courage of no ordinary kind 
and business acumen rarely attained. Within the past 
decade the colony has progressed greatly, and there is 
no question but that this progress is most largely due to 
the transforming genius of the Reids and the manner in 
which they stimulated its development in every direction. 
Through the agency of the railroad and the steamships, 
the ordinary trading conditions of the colony are be- 
coming transformed. Progressive and prosperous little 
towns are springing up in various parts ; fish exporters 
are branching out into new ventures in all the Bays ; 
and the future promises to see a remarkable advance in 
the economic conditions of the great mass of the people 
who reside in the " outports " every place in the Island 
elsewhere than St. John's being comprehended within 
this term. To-day there are many growing communities 
as affluent relatively, as progressive and as enterprising 
as the City itself ; while the absence of any municipal 
or local taxation elsewhere than in St. John's enables 
the dealers in these places to carry on their operations 
more cheaply than their competitors in the City. Such 
a departure for trade and manufacture could not have 
been possible but for the facilities afforded by the Reid 
Company, the new spirit of progress it infused into the 
Island, and the opportunities it has given for the more 
resourceful and progressive among the population to 
utilise these advantages for their own, and incidentally, 
for the general benefit. 

The next factor that contributed most widely to the 
Island's progress in recent years was the development of 
the iron ore mines at Belle Island by the " Dominion " 
and " Nova Scotia " Steel Companies, which have con- 
verted these beds into most profitable properties, the 
output aggregating a million tons a year, which is sold 
at a profit of $1 a ton. To gain this ore requires the 



26 

permanent employment of some 2,000 men, who, 
naturally, are paid wages in accordance with the 
laborious character of their work. The operations of 
these companies during the past ten years have created a 
real race of miners, men who, with the proverbial adapt- 
ability of the Newfoundlander, will fish during several 
months, and, after leaving their smacks one day, will 
transfer themselves to a mining centre the next, and 
prove as effective and capable workmen in the one as in 
the other. 

The mines of these corporations at Wabana, which 
the section of Bell Island where they are located is 
named, are among the finest of their kind in the world, 
being provided with the most modern equipment on the 
largest scale, improvements made elsewhere being 
very speedily applied to these plants, which are electric- 
ally lighted, thoroughly ventilated, provided with the 
most powerful pumping apparatus, and generally are 
regarded as models by all visiting engineers and other 
authorities, of whom very many come to the Island in 
order to study this remarkable deposit and the advanced 
methods adopted in winning the ore, raising it to the 
surface, and transferring it on shipboard. 

The third great factor contributing to the Island's 
development has been the initiation of the manufac- 
turing of pulp and paper in this colony by the Harms- 
worths and their associates, in what is officially known 
as " The Anglo-Newfoundland Development Company." 
It required courage of no mean order for a business 
corporation with so established a reputation to take the 
risk of setting up in the interior of Newfoundland an 
enterprise involving an expenditure of some $8,000,000, 
when its possibilities in regard to this industry were 
entirely problematical. Until the Harmsworths came, 
there had been, it is true, authorities who claimed that 
in its pulp-wood areas the Island possessed potential 
fortunes, but there were others who doubted that the 
venture would ever materialise. Hence the advent of 



27 

this Company, followed soon afterwards by the Albert 
Reed Company of London, proved that capable and 
prudent English capitalists were sufficiently satisfied of 
the prospects of this undertaking and confident enough 
as to the outlook to invest these very large amounts in 
the Island. To-day Newfoundland is recognised as 
being in the forefront of the world's pulp-wood coun- 
tries ; and valuable as has been the coming of these 
companies for the industrial influence it has imparted 
to the Island, it has been doubly valuable because of the 
testimony it has afforded to all observers as to the 
limitless extent to which this industry may yet be 
practised here, since there are numerous other forest 
areas which can be utilised for such like operations and 
which it is expected will soon be made the centres of 
similar industrial activity. 

"Wise measures have been enacted and are being 
rigidly enforced to prevent forest fires and the destruc- 
tion of the timber by any other than the legal methods, 
so that the greatest advantage may be derived by the 
colony from this immense asset, the possibilities of 
which are only coming to be realised very recently. 
The result of the operations of a specially organised 
fire patrol last year was, that not an outbreak of a serious 
nature occurred in any of the important forest areas 
of the colony ; and it is asserted by competent 
authorities that nowhere else in the world is there so 
efficient and satisfactory an arrangement for preventing 
the destruction of wooded areas by fire, as that which is 
in force in Newfoundland to-day. 

As a fruit of these developments and others, less 
important perhaps, but not without their influences, the 
change in this great Island becomes all the more striking 
every year. Its winter is now over and gone, and the 
cheering summer is with the people at last ; the voice of 
the locomotive is heard in the solitudes of the interior ; 
the unknown wilderness has proved to be a fair territory,, 
with mighty forests, smiling plains, rich mineral 



28 

treasures, and scenery unexcelled in this beautiful world. 
Capitalists in increasing numbers are finding their way 
to its shores every season. It is attracting deserved 
attention in the marts of commerce, and in the places 
where captains of industry and the progressive spirits of 
the age plan new conquests. 

All things considered, Newfoundland's material 
advancement of late must be admitted to be really 
marvellous. She has kept pace in population and in trade 
with her powerful neighbour the Dominion of Canada, 
and the future seems destined to be still more remark- 
able. Yet there was not a mile of railway built in 
Newfoundland until 1882 ; the electric light did not come 
until 1885 ; the telephone first appeared even later ; and 
it was not until within the past decade that street-cars 
were run in St. John's. 



29 



CHAPTER III. 

THE MAN OE THE HOUE. 

THE PRESENT PREMIER RECORD OF SIR EDWARD 

MORRIS NOTABLE AMONG COLONIAL STATESMEN 

PROGRESSIVE POLICY INAUGURATED BY HIM. 

FEW public men of Greater Britain have stamped 
the impress of their personality more strongly 
upon the life and progress of the colonies in which they 
reside than Sir Edward Morris, the present Prime 
Minister of Newfoundland. Elected to that position on 
his 50th birthday, he had for 25 years previously been 
prominent in its political affairs, and from the very 
outset won recognition as being a man of unusual 
capacity, who, it was predicted, would go far and prove 
himself in time a potent factor in moulding its destinies. 
Chosen to represent his native district of St. John's 
West, when barely through his law course, he won a 
brilliant victory as an independent candidate, contesting 
this constituency against the three regular nominees of 
the dominant political party of the day, with all the 
influences which those interests that had long assumed 
to control the constituency could exert against him. He 
headed the poll by a substantial majority ; and from that 
day until this has, at election after election, not alone 
held this proud position, but has enjoyed also the unique 
distinction of never having lost a colleague, this being a 
boast which no other of the Island's statesmen can make, 
because at some time or other the vicissitudes of 
political fortune have cost some leader his weaker 
colleague in these larger constituencies. 



30 

At the age of 30, in a colony where rarely do others 
than greybeards acquire such eminence, Mr. Morris was 
a Minister (without portfolio) in Sir William White way's 
cabinet, and the recognised political spokesman of the 
Roman Catholic people of the colony. This latter 
position, too, has never seriously been disputed since 
that time; and when, in 1897, after eight years of 
virtually uninterrupted retention of office, the White way 
Ministry was overthrown, Mr. Morris was the only 
public man in the Island who could claim that his 
political prestige had been unshaken. 

When, in the subsequent session the Winter 
Ministry introduced the famous Reid Railway contract 
of that year, one of the most striking incidents respect- 
ing it was the withdrawal of Mr. Morris from the 
regular Opposition, then led by Mr. Robert Bond, in 
order to vote for this measure, which he conceived to 
be in the best interests of the country. This decision of 
his has been amply justified by subsequent events; but 
at the time it called for rare courage and fidelity, and 
no better illustration could be afforded of the character 
of the man than this fact comprehends. His foresight 
is recognised by even his opponents. He is admittedly 
the one above all others in our political life who can, 
with almost unerring judgment, estimate the scope and 
effect of every project that is put forward ; and that he 
saw good in this measure and was prepared to sacrifice, 
as it seemed at the time, his political future in order to 
support it, weighed much with many in influencing 
them in its favour. 

The political whirligig created such altered con- 
ditions in 1900 that, internal dissensions affecting the 
Winter administration, Messrs. Bond and Morris, by 
combining again, on a policy of no repeal of the Reid 
Railway Contract of 1898, were able to overthrow that 
Government through the defection of some of its dis- 
contented elements, and secure the direction of the 
colony's destinies once more. The Bond - Morris 



SI 

Ministry swept the country in the resulting election 
tli at autumn so decisively as to carry 32 seats out of 36 ; 
and when, two years later, a temporary reverse seemed 
to threaten this administration in its turn, the only one 
in the Government to whom the then vacant portfolio 
of Justice could be tendered, was Mr. Morris, whose 
strength in his own constituency was such, that while 
the rest of the Island seemed seething with revolt, he 
was able to secure re-election upon accepting office, 
without a contest ; a condition all things considered, 
that was unequalled in our annals. 

In the general election of 1904 the Bond-Morris 
Ministry was again successful, its strength being 
scarcely diminished, for it held 30 out of 36 seats this 
time ; but in the summer of 1907, Sir Edward Morris 
(who, like his leader, had been knighted for his services), 
displayed the sincerity of his convictions and his indif- 
ference to possible disadvantages, by breaking from Sir 
Hobert Bond on a question of policy and going into 
opposition, to undertake the seemingly hopeless task, as 
a Roman. Catholic, of attempting to gain the Premier- 
ship in a country two-thirds Protestant, and where one 
of his faith had not held that position for half a 
century. The story of the troublous times which 
ensued is detailed elsewhere in this volume. Suffice it 
to say, that after a deadlock which created a unique 
problem in the governing of the British Dominions 
beyond the seas, Sir Edward Morris emerged victorious 
and at last found himself in a position to give the fullest 
effect to his statesmanlike views for the betterment of 
the condition of the people and of the colony. An 
unswerving advocate of liberal principles, a believer in 
progressive measures in all departments of public life, 
public- spirited, hard-working, self-sacrificing, capable of 
conceiving large projects, and possessing the dynamic 
energy and executive ability to carry them into effect, 
he proceeded to vitalize again the body politic, to infuse 
new blood into every artery of domestic endeavour, to 



32 

launch measures for ensuring decided advances in 
every phase of industrial and commercial activity 
within the Island. His inauguration, upon his assump- 
tion of office, of the policies which are described in 
more detail in the chapter relating to "The Morris 
Government's Programme," made itself felt in the 
remotest sections of the Island, and in every industry, no 
matter how small. His opponents, pretending to believe 
that the boldness of his projects, departing as they did 
from the beaten track, endangered the fiscal stability of 
the colony, sought to weaken public confidence in him by 
attacking his proposals in the Dual Election ; but he was 
able to show at the time how genuine was his advocacy 
of these matters, and how essential to the colony's 
progress were the measures he proposed ; and he has 
since been able to demonstrate conclusively that they are 
being and will be accomplished successfully, without 
increasing taxation at present borne by the people. 
Though this Ministry has been in office but little more 
than two years, the sum of its achievements is far greater 
than those of any previous administration during one, or 
it may be two terms of four years the normal duration 
of a Legislature here. Railway building has been 
enterprised, paper-making added to local industries, 
mining increased substantially, farming stimulated as 
never before, manufacturing encouraged to venture into 
new undertakings ; and various minor industries in 
different sections of the Island, have also received their 
meed of assistance, every effort being likewise made to 
extend and develop the fishing and other occupations 
which form the support of so many of the people, and to 
realise more for their products when marketed. The 
attention of outside capitalists has been attracted to the 
colony to an extent never before approached. Every 
facility has been afforded them to invest their money in 
the development of its resources, and the same wise policy 
has been pursued in other respects. A believer in sane 
and sagacious publicity with respect to the Island and its 




Sir RALPH CHAMPNEYS WILLIAMS, K.C.M.G. 



'"- I 









Lady WILLIAMS. 



P/iofo.] 



33 

affairs, Sir Edward Morris, since assuming office, has left 
nothing undone to present its resources and possibilities 
in the proper light before the outside world, and 
especially before the investing communities of England, 
Canada and the United States. In the newspapers and 
magazines, hy interviews and addresses, by courtesy to* 
visitors and hy facilitating the inquiries of writers and. 
scientists, he has helped to gain attention for the colony,, 
and to imbue all who come to its shores with the well- 
founded belief that it is advancing hy leaps and hounds-' 
along the highway of progress in the direction of abiding 
material betterment as everything goes to show. 
Because of Newfoundland's varied importance from an 
international view point, owing to its " Prench Shore" 
and " American Fishery " questions, the present Premier 
has enjoyed an exceptionally favourable training for the 
position he occupies, having heen a delegate to Great 
Britain more than once in relation to these questions, 
and being, therefore, well fitted to pursue the negotia- 
tions which had been begun hy his predecessors in. 
reference to the submission of the colony's differences 
with America to the Hague Tribunal ; and, by his partici- 
pation in tbe conference with Canadian representatives 
and the British Ambassador at Washington, in 
conjunction with the American authorities, to lessen the 
dangers of friction in the future and reduce the number 
of points in regard to which further proceedings might 
he necessary. At home the Premier has set a new 
standard for administrative work by throwing himself 
unrestrainedly into the task of carrying on the official 
business of the Island with as much celerity and despatch 
as possible, and by constantly devising new methods by 
which its welfare may be promoted. Always accessible, 
working more hours a day than the hardest-driven 
labourer, lending a sympathetic ear to every grievance, 
and a ready hearing to all with proposals calculated to 
prove in the general interest, he lias come to be regarded 
as a model Premier, a forceful, vigorous and yet 



34 

conservative statesman ; and it is by no means uncommon 
to bear even tbose who were strongly opposed to bim at 
the last election, admit that he is proving a thoroughly 
satisfactory head to the colony's affairs, and is striving in 
a fashion that deserves the greatest success, to advance 
the colony's general welfare. 

Despite the fact that in the summer of 1900 he had 
to spend three months in England in connection with 
the Imperial Defence Conference and other matters 
relating to the colony's affairs ; that in 1910 he was 
obliged to spend three months at the Hague in con- 
nection with the Fisheries Arbitration, and that during 
the current year his participation in the Imperial Con- 
ference and the Coronation will require him to spend at 
least three months in England, he has contrived to put 
in an amount of work in this Island, never attempted by 
any predecessor. He has made an official and detailed 
visitation of most of the electoral districts a policy, 
like many others, inaugurated by him ! he has actively 
identified himself with the formation of the Board of 
Trade, wdth the launching of the Festival of Empire 
and with many other projects, all of which make sub- 
stantial demands upon his time through meetings that 
require to be attended and business that arises and calls 
for consideration and decision. In addition to this, the 
actual duty of conducting the Government in a colony 
like this, demands Cabinet action on almost every 
matter, and this entails meetings of the Executive 
Council at such frequent intervals that no small share 
of a public man's time is thus occupied. In addition to 
the work which fell to his predecessors, he has practically 
taken it upon himself to create the Department of the 
Prime Minister and to find, at home and abroad, the 
subjects with which it undertakes to deal, so that it is 
easy to realise how the average observer marvels at the 
amount and the variety of work which Sir Edward 
accomplishes from day to day, and at the manner in 
which he presents new problems for the consideration 



35 

of the community as well as his Ministry, and all of them 
designed to promote the interests of the country in some 
shape or form. 

It is a safe prediction, that if the health of Sir Edward 
Morris hears up under the strain of this incessant and 
exhausting work, the colony will experience the fruits 
of his labours in such a sustained and far-reaching 
improvement, in every phase of its economic existence, 
as will make it prosper hey on d the hope of its most 
enthusiastic and optimistic well-wishers, and earn for 
the Prime Minister who has contributed so much to this 
result, the undying gratitude of his fellow-countrymen. 



36 



CHAPTER IY. 



HISTORICAL SKETCH. 

DISCOVERY BY CABOT ANNEXATION BY GILBERT 

PRENCH AGGRESSION SETTLEMENT DISCOURAGED 

UNJUST LAWS PISHING ADMIRALS 

BETTER DAYS. 

THE history of Newfoundland forms one of the 
most absorbing chapters in the annals of Britain 
overseas. This Island is at once the oldest and nearest 
of the Colonies and was for more than a century 
England's only possession in the New World. (By the 
knowledge spread through Western Europe soon after 
its discovery, that the new isle's seaboard teemed with 
fish, the West-of-England and Continental mariners 
were attracted there to reap this finny harvest, and 
gradually the stalwart, fearless and enduring English- 
men assumed mastery of the region, overshadowed all 
competitors, and formally declared it an appanage of 
the Kingdom. 

Newfoundland should be of special interest to the 
British people, because it was their first foothold beyond 
the Western ocean, the spot where their adventurous 
ancestors, when the daring spirit of these prompted 
them to seek the new lands that form " a vaster empire 
than has been," had their initial lodgment. It proved 
a prime factor in the beginnings of England's navy and 
the growth of England's greatness upon the seas. It 
became the engendering spot of admirals, the training 
ground for the sturdy adventurers who rode the billows 



37 

in the dawning days of the New "World's discovery, 
"where were bred the men who scoured the Spanish 
Main, sank the Armada, and carried " the meteor flag " 
to every clime Gilbert, Raleigh, Drake, Hawkins, 
Cook, Rodney and other figures in naval records being 
associated with its early days. 

Newfoundland also enjoys the distinction of being 
the first Anglo-American plantation, in the sense that 
here, for long years prior to permanent settlement in 
the New World, English seamen gathered every summer 
to fish, and that here were these colonies attempted 
which later spread from Massachusetts to the Carolinas. 
It was mainly the wealth of the fishing banks which 
tempted Pilgrim and Puritan, Cavalier and Roundhead 
to cross the stormy ocean and root themselves in un- 
familiar soil. It may seem hard to credit that the 
nursery of the American nation was the coast of Terra 
Nova, but a century before the Pilgrim Fathers landed 
on Plymouth Rock this " new founde lande " was the 
common resort of the daring Devonshire voyagers 
half pirate, half trader who scorned the hazards of the 
unknown West and worked the never- failing mine of 
the Grand Bank fisheries. 

The discovery of Newfoundland followed, within 
five years after the great achievement of Columbus. 
Henry VII., jealous of the glory that had come to 
Spain by the exploits of the great navigator, lent ready 
ear to the proposals of some " merchant venturers " of 
Bristol to equip John Cabot, a Venetian mariner, then 
residing there, for a voyage of discovery into the 
Western seas. He conferred a charter upon Cabot to 
" seek out, discover and find whatsoever isles, regions, 
countries or provinces of the heathens and infidels, 
whatsoever they be, and in whatsoever part of the 
world, which before this time have been unknown to 
all Christians," and the return which the king exacted 
was, that he was to receive one-fifth of the profits of 
the voyage, together with the prospect of qnlarge- 



38 

ment of territory, he having given them " our license to 
set up our banners and ensigns in every village, town, 
castle, isle or mainland of them newly found." En- 
couraged by the E/oyal countenance, Cabot prepared for 
the voyage which, so far as we know with absolute 
authenticity, resulted in the discovery of the American 
Continent. His ambition was to discover a North-west 
passage to Cathay and Cipango, which we now know as 
China and Japan, and on May 2nd, 1497, he sailed from 
Bristol in the ship Matthew of about 50 tons burden, 
manned by sixteen seamen of that port and one Burgun- 
dian, he being captain-general of the expedition, with 
the king's commission to " subdue, occupy and possess 
all territory he can subdue as our vassal and lieutenant." 
Glancing back upon that period, we may conjure up the 
picture of the little caravel setting forth from the river 
Avon on that fair May day, more than 400 years ago, 
with all the good folk of Bristol thronging the banks to 
cheer them ; for this tiny craft embodied the pride of the 
nation, the expedition under the auspices of the king 
being a defiance to the arrogant Spaniard and represent- 
ing, as we know, the first step towards the acquirement 
of far- stretching territories in every clime. 

Cabot voyaged onward for 50 days, and then made 
a landfall in a new country ; just where, is a matter of 
dispute, but local tradition in Newfoundland implies 
that he reached Cape " Beunavista," which he named 
" Happy Sight " ; that the nearest inlet, now known as 
" King's Cove," was so called after the British Monarch, 
and that the next, known as " Keels," was where his 
boats first touched the shore. Tradition also declares that, 
cruising southward, he entered St. John's harbour on 
June 24th, and named it for the the Saint whose festival 
it was. All authorities agree that on his homeward 
voyage he cruised along the south shore of Newfound- 
land and saw wondrous sights great soles (halibut) a 
yard long, fish taken up in baskets (caplin), strange 
animals which he named " sea-cows " (walrus), and 



39 

amazing cither new beasts and birds and fishes, so that 
lyrF returning to England he was able to tell of new 
territory so rich in all these things, that the English 
Monarch granted 10 "to hym who f ounde the new 
isle " ; and the next year gave his patronage to a larger 
expedition and a pension of 20 a year to Cabot, though 
he was careful to make this a charge on the revenues of 
Bristol. 

Cabot's second expedition made further discoveries, 
and venturing northward penetrated into a region where 
there were " wondrous heaps of ice, swimming on the 
sea, and in a manner, continual daylight," so he shifted 
helm and proceeded south, supposedly to what is now 
known as Florida, whence he returned to Bristol in good 
time. 

/>The fame of the fishery wealth of Newfoundland 
soon spread, and other voyagers hurried there within a 
year or two 3 for his discovery must have been a momen- 
tous incident in the history of England in those days. 
In 1502, three natives of the " new isle " brought home 
by Cabot, or some fishermen who followed him, were 
exhibited before the English King, and the records of 
the period soon refer to English vessels fishing there. 
Gradually the daring seafolk of all Western Europe 
gathered there, the Basques and the Biscayans enter- 
prising it most extensively at the outset, until eventually 
its harbours became the meeting place of fishers from 
all these parts, who traded with each other in their 
various commodities, and made it an international 
clearing-house. Their presence is perpetuated in its 
nomenclature down to the present day, by such places 
as English Harbour, Frenchman's Arm, Spaniard's Bay, 
Portugal Cove, For t-au- Basques, Biscay Bay and 
Harbour Breton. 

The lure of the gold-yielding tropics, contrasted 
with the storms and hazards of the Northern waters, 
and the toil- won spoil of the seas thereof, probably did 
much to attract the Spanish and Portuguese in time 



40 

from Newfoundland to Mexico and Peru ; but all through 
the sixteenth century the "New land" was a famous 
fishing place. By 1550 it was important enough to be 
included in the Acts punishing officials for plundering 
the fishermen of Iceland, Ireland and the " New land," 
and its fishery product became so great that " sack 
ships " or freighters had_to_be employed to ^ayry~"salf 
^cod to market? During this period of course, it was a 
"No Man's land," the common resort of crafts from 
every quarter, but on August 7th, 1583, Sir Humphrey 
Gilbert put into St. John's harbour and took possession 
of the Island for his royal mistress, Queen Elizabeth. 
By that time the harbour was known as a shelter port by 
every mariner sailing the seas ; and Gilbert found forty 
vessels there, of which sixteen were English, who pre- 
pared to give him battle, until he sent in a boat to 
explain his mission ; when, as the narrative states, 
" they caused to be discharged all the great ordnance of 
their fleet in welcome." His historian tells how he was 
entertained most heartily by the English at their 
" Summer Garden," and how surprised were his crews at 
the importance of the place. "Well might they be, and 
well might the world to-day be surprised to learn that 
these humble fisherfolk had a "Summer garden" in 
Newfoundland thirty years before the Dutch occupied 
what is now New York, and that scores of vessels from 
Spain northward crossed the ocean every year to fish 
for cod in its waters, long before the mainland of America 
was effectively settled, as the Virginia plantation was 
not established until 1610, nor did the Pilgrim Eathers 
land in Massachusetts Bay until 1620. 

When Gilbert, in the Squirrel, vanished with all 
his company on the homeward trip, his half-brother, Sir 
W T alter Raleigh, obtained from the Queen a grant of a 
large plantation near St. John's, and in 1593 he 
declared that the New Land fishery " w^as the mainstay 
and support of the Western Counties," then the principal 
maritime centre of England ; and that " if any misfortune 



41 

happened to the Newfoundland fleet, it would be of the 
greatest calamity that could befall England." By 1600 
there were 200 English fishing vessels in the Newfound- 
land trade, employing 10,000 men and boys, and 
garnering a product valued at 500,000 sterling, a 
handsome sum in these days, and when a pound sterling 
had much greater intrinsic value than it has to-day. 
Ten years later Sir William Monson asserted that in 
the quarter- century after Gilbert annexed the Island, 
its fisheries were worth 100,000 a year to the English 
engaged therein, besides greatly increasing the number 
of English ships and mariners. 

Through this fishery were created the mariners who 
later broke the sea-power of Spain and France, and 
made England what she is to-day the mistress of the 
ocean. Queen Elizabeth established a " Protestant 
Lent," enacting that throughout England fish should be 
eaten every "Wednesday and Saturday ; rations of it 
were supplied to the soldiers in their campaigns, cod 
came to be esteemed a great luxury, and fetched goodly 
prices in England, Ireland, Channel Islands and Erance ; 
and to this day many of these connections are main- 
tained and sales effected, a commerce unbroken for 
300 years, while France provides bounties for her fisher- 
men in resorting to Newfoundland waters, even in 
this twentieth century, because from this class she 
draws the recruits to man her navy and maintain her 
fleets. 

After the defeat of the Armada in 15S8, in which 
the English fisherfolk resorting to Newfoundland 

O O 

played no mean part, Spanish vessels virtually 
abandoned fishing on the Grand Bank, but were suc- 
ceeded by the French, now planning colonies in the 
New World, as denoted by Champlain's occupation of 
Quebec ; whence began the struggle for supremacy in 
North America between the two nations which con- 
tinued for 150 years, until France's claims were shattered 
on the Plains of Abraham in 1763. 



42 

The first permanent settlement in Newfoundland 
was made in 1610 by John Guy, a merchant, and sub- 
sequently Alderman and Mayor of Bristol. He and his 
followers, 52 in all, located at Cupar's Cove, in Concep- 
tion Bay, as much of the East coast near St. John's had 
already been granted as plantations to notables or com- 
panies in England. Lord Bacon and others Avere asso- 
ciated with Guy ; and Bacon declared that " the New- 
foundland fisheries were more valuable than all the gold 
of Peru." Pirates had, however, already made lairs in 
this Island, and their misdoings caused the failure of 
Guy's colony. 

In 1615, Capt. Richard Whitbourne, of Exmouth, 
was sent to Newfoundland to oversee the fisheries, and 
found 250 English fishing vessels there conclusive 
evidence of the importance of the cod fishery even then. 
He was an unusually able and observant man, and wrote 
a treatise on the Island, entitled "A Discourse and 
Discovery of Newfoundland," to induce Englishmen to 
settle there and develop its fishery and farming 
resources, describing its climate, soil and possibilities in 
terms now abundantly confirmed. King James so highly 
approved of his book, that he ordered a copy to be sent 
to every parish in the Kingdom; the Archbishops of 
Canterbury and York commended it to the clergy and 
laity; and to nobles and commoners the name of the 
" new Isle " was familiar, so that settlement there was 
widely discussed as its fisheries were extensively enter- 
prised. Eor these were stirring times for England on 
the seas ; the Eastern coast of Newfoundland w r as the 
resort of large fishing flotillas ; Devon and Dorset alone 
sent scores of vessels there, and thousands of quintals of 
cod were shipped annually to every country in Western 
Europe, while yet the Indians lighted their camp-fires 
along the Massachusetts shore. 

Sir George Calvert, Lord Baltimore, established in 
1623 a plantation at Yerulam (now Eerryland) forty 
miles from St. John's, towards Cape R,ace. It proved a 



43 

failure because the Erench, who were disputing the 
control of the south coast, harassed him so, that he 
abandoned the place, though some of his colonists 
remained permanently there. Sir David Kirke succeeded 
him in 1638 with a charter from Charles I., and resided 
at Eerryland 27 years, governing the territory till his 
death in 1665. 

Meanwhile the French had secured a footing on the 
southern seaboard, and in 1635 obtained permission to 
dry fish there. In 1660 they were ceded Placentia, and 
fortified it as a fishery and strategic stronghold, whence 
in course of time they overran most of the Island and 
captured St. John's more than once. By the Treaty of 
Utrecht in 1713 they abandoned all territorial claims 
and possessions and relinquished Placentia, but were 
granted fishing rights on the west coast. Eifty years 
later, in the incessant wars of the period, they captured 
St. John's again, but were soon ousted ; and the Treaty 
of Paris confirmed England's sovereignty, though the 
Erench fishing rights continued, thus creating the 
"Erench Shore" Question, which defied all efforts at 
settlement for nearly two centuries. 

Meanwhile the prosecution of the fisheries by the 
English came under the control of bodies of merchant 
" venturers," who thus originated the " chartered 
companies " trading into Hudson Bay, East Indies, and 
more recently South Africa, associations which, by 
conquest and trade, have done so much to enlarge 
England's territory and prestige, even if at the cost in 
many instances of human liberty and popular rights. 

These " venturers " speedily controlled Newfound- 
land, which they owned, to all intents and purposes. 
Then began the record of neglect and misgovernment 
which makes her sad story without parallel in Colonial 
history ; for she has suffered as much from British 
indifference as from French aggression ; and, while her 
fisheries have been the source of her wealth, they have 
also been the oriin of the troubles that for centuries 



44 

have made her, as Lord Salisbury observed, " the sport 
of historic misfortune." When one reflects upon the 
cruelty and oppression she has had to contend with, the 
wonder is, not that Newfoundland has accomplished so 
little, as that she has achieved so much. This year, 
for the first time in her history, the complete overlord- 
ship of the soil is her own ; no foreign power can claim 
her strand or block her plans for industrial development; 
no alien race can enforce the blasting influence of 
oppressive or vexatious demands as heretofore, prior to 
the settlement of the " French Shore " Question by the 
Anglo-Gallic accord of 1904, and the "American 
Fishery " dispute by the Hague Arbitration of 1910. 

Though Newfoundland lies at the threshold of the 
New World, with undoubted mineral wealth, forests 
covering vast areas, and farm and pasture lands to main- 
tain thousands ; yet, because of the selfish greed of the 
early fishing " venturers," colonization was forbidden at 
first, commerce was discouraged later, valuable fishery 
and seaboard rights were surrendered, and policies of 
studied neglect were observed towards it, which bear 
evil fruit to this day. The " venturers " secured the 
most eligible harbours, and gathered the whole control 
of the fishing into their own hands, while they devised 
plans for discouraging and eventually preventing per- 
manent settlement, which deflected the old-time 
emigration to the American mainland. They never 
regarded Newfoundland as other than a fishing station, to 
be utilised during the summer months and not otherwise, 
because it was only by keeping its magnificent fisheries 
in their own hands that they could extract the largest 
profits therefrom. The enactments of which they 
procured the passage were barbarous. It was illegal 
for a man to winter on the Island or to build a 
permanent house there. If he did, he could be im- 
prisoned and his domicile destroyed. Every shipmaster 
liad to bring back in the fall each man he took 
out in the spring, under heavy penalty. All 



45 

fishery requisites, except salt, had to be procured 

in England, and no \voman was allowed on the 

Island. There was no government, judiciary, or code of 

laws. Justice, so-called, was dispensed by " fishing 

admirals." In British history there is surely nothing so 

extraordinary as this expedient of ruling a colony from 

the quarter-deck of a fishing schooner. The law ran 

that the captain of the first vessel arriving in a harbour 

became admiral for the season, the second vice-admiral, 

and the third rear-admiral. The sort of justice these 

rough, ignorant seamen administered can easily be 

imagined ; yet their regime endured for 150 years, and 

until the close of the sixteenth century, when the naval 

commanders were endowed with superior authority, 

there was no appeal from their decisions. They were 

specially zealous in preventing settlement of the coast ; 

harried the runaway fisherfolk, burnt their huts and 

destroyed their few effects. This frequently compelled 

the victims to surrender, or remove in friendly crafts to 

New England, for the " venturers " controlled the coast 

and the interior was impossible, because of the 

aborigines. But some settlers defied oppression and 

retired into the fastnesses, applying torch and axe to 

the fish-houses of their persecutors, after these left 

each autumn. As the years passed it was seen that all 

barbarities were powerless to prevent settlement, and 

later enactments, if equally oppressive, recognised this 

fact. They forbade structures within six miles of the 

coast ; required offenders to be tried in England ; and 

one edict was for the deporting of all the settlers to 

America. This brutal order was, it is true, not enforced 

because of its difficulty ; but it influenced hundreds to 

migrate to New England, fearing forcible expulsion. 

These vexatious enactments were continued even to 

periods when a more enlightened policy was manifested 

towards the Colony, and it was not until within a century 

that the last of these was repealed. 

The scanty resident population struck root all the 



46 

deeper at every attempt to remove it. The struggle was 
bitter and prolonged, but ended by the settlers in time 
becoming numerous enough to assert their rights. 
Clergymen volunteered to labour among them, and 
recounted to friends in England the infamies perpetrated, 
so that gradually the most inhuman enactments were 
repealed. Governors were appointed, laws framed, and* 
oppressions checked. Naval commanders replaced the 
fishing admirals, and the country saw peace at last. 

Because of its early " plantations," the word 
"planter" is still current in the insular vocabulary, and 
the " supplying system " still prevails, the solitary links 
which connect with these bygone days. A " planter " in 
Newfoundland parlance, is a fish trader on a moderate 
scale, the middleman between the merchant who ships 
the cod to market and the toiler who hauls it from the 
water. " Plantations " are yet interwoven with local 
tradition, and show on ancient maps and charts. The 
tenure of some has never been broken ; the names and 
locations of others are perpetuated in the existing fishing 
hamlets which dot the shore line. Under the " supplying 
system " the merchants and planters " supply " the 
fisherfolk each spring with all the essentials for their 
adequate prosecution of the industry, and when the 
season ends, take over their produce against the advances 
made them six months before. The " merchants " are 
the descendants of the early "merchant adventurers " 
who exploited the new-found Colony. 



47 

CHAPTER V. 

THE ABORIGINES. 

THE BEOTHICS RACIAL CHARACTERISTICS DECIMATED 
BY SETTLERS ATTEMPTS AT CONCILIATION LAST RED 

MEN VANISH. 

THE Beothics, the aboriginal inhabitants of New- 
foundland, are supposed to have been a branch of 
the great Algonquin tribe, a war-like race occupying 
the North-east of the American Continent. Little is 
known of the Beothics in the early days of the island's 
discovery, save that they were a numerous and power- 
ful race then, and that a few were taken to England 
very soon, and proved of great interest to all beholders. 
Cartier, who visited Newfoundland in 1534, describes 
them somewhat minutely, and in 1576 Erobisher 
induced some to go to England with him, while Gilbert 
in 1583 mentions seeing them on the coast. John Guy, 
the first colonist, opened trade with them in 1610, and 
eventually induced them to fish for him. But another 
shipmaster coming to the coast, and seeing the Indians 
gather, as he thought to resist his landing, opened fire 
and killed several, and never again could friendly 
relations with them be resumed. 

Because of their habit of coloring their faces and 
garments they were known as " the Red Indians/' and 
thus they are mentioned in the early records. They 
frequently stole the white men's axes, knives and other 
implements, so that quarrels arose ; and they were 
slaughtered ruthlessly. They were a simple, nomadic 
people, living by the chase and their skill in fishing, 
and inhabiting wigwams made of skins or bark. Gradu- 
ally they were driven from the seaboard into the 
interior, and ultimately forced towards the Northern 
peninsula, known to the French as the " Petit Nord." 



48 

Later, Micmac Indians made their way across from 
Nova Scofcia and between them and the Beothics bitter 
hostility developed. Gradually, the massacres of the 
Beothics grew worse and worse, both French and 
English made war upon them, and the French authori- 
ties offered at one time, a bounty for their heads. 
About 150 years ago Newfoundland Governors began to 
realize the cruelty of the existing policy and friendly 
overtures were attempted ; Governor Palliser, in 1760, 
sending Major Cartwright to the region where they 
still lingered. He failed to get in touch with them, but 
reported so strongly of their ill-treatment by the settlers, 
that the Governor issued a proclamation threatening 
condign punishment to all who maltreated or murdered 
any in future. Twice about this time Indian boys 
were captured by settlers, partly civilized, and used 
for fishery servants ; but they died early, possibly 
of ill-treatment. In 1803, a settler named Cull 
captured an Indian woman and brought her to 
St. John's, where Governor Gambier gave her many 
presents and sent her back to the tribe, hoping to 
conciliate them, but there is no evidence that she ever 
reached them, and the belief is, that Cull killed her to- 
secure the gifts. Governor Holloway, in 1808, had a 
large picture painted, showing whites and reds in friendly 
attitudes, and sent it to Exploits by Lieut. Spratt in an 
armed schooner, with instructions to proceed up the 
river, to what is known as the " lied Indian Lake," and 
endeavour to gain the confidence of the natives by 
displaying this picture in some resort of theirs ; but the 
expedition failed in its object, not a single red man 
being seen. In 1811, Governor Duckworth sent Lieut. 
Buchan on a similar mission, who did meet some of the 
natives, but the result was disastrous, for, leaving two 
of his men as hostages with the tribe, while he took four 
natives to where he had stored presents, some twelve 
miles distant, he found, on returning the next day, 
three of the Indians having deserted meanwhile, that 




The Right Hon. Sir E. P. MORRIS, P.C., K.C., LL.D. 
Pltoio, Elliott A- /'.;/. 




Photo.] 



Lady MORRIS. 



49 

the tribe had murdered his two mariners, in the belief 
that the naval party had destroyed the Indians who had 
been taken along. In 1819, John Peyton, of Twillingate, 
having represented to Governor Hamilton that Beothics 
were in that vicinity, was empowered to treat with them, 
and surprised a party in their wigwam by crossing the 
ice on the Exploits Elver. He captured a woman, 
later known as " Mary March," whose husband, the 
chief, was shot by Peyton as he tried to kill him with 
an axe stolen from some settler's boat. She was 
brought to St. John's, treated well during the winter, 
and sent back in the spring on a naval craft, but died 
on the way. Her body was coffined, taken to a wigwam 
inland, and there erected on a platform, to preserve it 
from wild animals, with the idea that others of the 
tribe might come upon it and bury it according to 
native custom ; and in 1828, when Cormack, the first 
white man to traverse the interior, passed that way, he 
noted that the body had been removed, later finding it 
buried according to the Indian custom. In 1824, three 
Indian women, a mother and two daughters, were 
captured at Badger Lake and brought to St. John's, 
where they told that the tribe was then reduced to about 
fourteen, through famine and disease. They were taken 
back after some months, but preferred to settle with the 
colonists on the coast. The mother and one daughter 
died of consumption at Twillingate a year or two later, 
and the other daughter, Shaw r iiaiiclithit, returned to 
St. John's, where she survived until 1829, when she, too, 
succumbed to the same disease. In 1827 an institution 
was founded for the civilizing of the Beothics, and the 
expedition of Cormack was undertaken under its 
auspices, but it failed to find a single member of the 
tribe ; and it is believed that all had died before that 
time. Certainly the last record there of these Indians 
being seen is that they were observed crossing the ice at 
New Bay in 1823, and Shawnandithit's death probably 
ended the Beothic race. 

These natives never attained any knowledge of fire- 



50 

arms, and were apparently peaceful and disposed to be 
friendly in the earlier days, though they developed a 
savagery in later dealings with the settlers, for which 
the ill-treatment they had suffered was doubtless respon- 
sible. Their practice was to cut the heads off their 
enemies whom they killed, and not to scalp them. 
They usually inhabited conical wigwams, though in 
rare cases lived in square hut-like structures covered 
with bark. They kindled their fires by directing sparks 
into the down of drv mosses; thev knew nothing of 

i/ ft- O 

pottery, and though they apparently used soap-stone 
vessels hollowed out, they boiled their food in baskets 
of spruce bark. They believed in a future life, for 
they showed great care in disposing of their dead and 
interred with them articles apparently of a religious 
character, and also bows, arrows and fishery implements, 
as well as food. 

In deer hunting they felled trees, to form fences 
to stop the caribou in their annual migration and head 
them towards the rivers where they could more easily 
kill them. Travellers who subsequently came upon 
these fences say they often extended thirty and forty 
miles, and were most ingenious in their construction, 
the trees being cut so that they fell on one another and 
their branches being then interlaced in such a fashion 
as made it impossible for the deer to escape. That the 
Indians cut down so many trees with the rude imple- 
ments they possessed is little short of a marvel, and this 
fact, as well as the excellent workmanship shown in 
their various relics now exhibited in the Museum at 
St. John's, proves that they must have possessed intelli- 
gence of no mean order. In the summer of 1910, His 
Excellency, Earl Grey, the Governor- General of Canada, 
who paid a visit to the paper-mills at Grand Falls on 
his way back from his Hudson Bay trip, stopped his 
special train on the shore of Grand Lake, which was 
one of the principal resorts of the Beothics, and at a 
hunting bungalow there, inspected many relics of the 
vanished red men. 



51 



CHAPTER VI. 
ROADS AND RAILWAYS. 

COAST ALONE PEOPLED SETTLERS ALL PISHERFOLK 

PERMANENT OCCUPATION FORBIDDEN No ROADS 

UNTIL 1825 PROGRESS SINCE THEN. 

TVTEWFOTJNDLAND is somewhat of a paradox 
J-^l regarding its transportation facilities. A fishing 
country before everything else, with its people settled 
almost wholly around its coast line, it possesses to-day 
the largest per capita mileage in railways of any coun- 
try in the world of similar character, while its system of 
coast and bay steamers has no equal in Eastern Canada ; 
and, winding their way around the coast villages are 
thousands of miles of highways. The change effected 
by all these agencies of communication is all the more 
remarkable because no country has ever suffered so 
much from repressive laws and official indifference as 
Newfoundland. Not until 1825, or only 86 years ago, 
was the first road in the island constructed all travel 
previously being over trails or narrow paths, and the 
draft animals the famous Newfoundland dogs. 

These conditions were the outgrowth of the cruel 
enactments, conceived entirely for retaining the colony 
merely as a fishing place, and discouraging permanent 
settlement or other forms of industry. The laws 
against the cultivation of the soil, and even against the 
erection of permanent dwellings, were enforced up to 
the beginning of the last century. In 1790, Governor 
Millbanke proclaimed that he " was directed not to 
allow any right of private property whatever in any 



52 

land not actually employed in the fishery." In 1799, 
Governor Waldegrave ordered fences enclosing a piece 
of ground in St. John's to be torn down, and prohibited 
chimneys even in temporary sheds. Only in 1811 were 
permanent buildings allowed ; and two years more 
elapsed before grants of land were issued. Not until 
1825 was road making begun, though St. John's had 
then 12,000 people ; and within twenty miles there 
were probably half as many more. 

The first road extended from St. John's to Portugal 
Cove, on the south shore of Conception Bay, nine miles 
distant, with a boat service to carry mails and passen- 
gers across the inlet to the thriving towns of Brigus, 
Harbor Grace and Carbonear, on the northern shore of 
that Bay, which then held 2,000 people each and were 
large fishing centres. Gradually, as the years passed, 
road making was extended, the Colonial Legislature 
voted funds for such from year to year, and occasionally 
when circumstances warranted, sums on capital account 
were likewise disbursed. At present most of the sea- 
board is provided with roads. 

Newfoundland's experience throws an instructive 
side-light upon the question as to who should own 
railways the country or the corporations ? An analysis 
of the conditions underlying her case will probably 
satisfy the investigator, that in this colony corporation 
control is inevitable. 

Perhaps no phase of colonial economics in recent 
years has evoked more comment than that comprehended 
in the Newfoundland railway its construction by the 
colony and its transfer to the contractor. To clearly 
understand it one must bear in mind that the principal 
industry of the colony is fishing for cod, seal, salmon 
and herring, and that this pursuit occupies most of the 
inhabitants. Though the island is the tenth largest in 
the world, its entire population of 240,000 is scattered 
around the coast line in fishing hamlets near the sea, 
which provides them with sustenance. There were not 



53 

until this century opened, three settlements in the island 
lacking an outlet by sea. Eor a maritime people like 
this, therefore, to undertake railway building would 
seem little short of insane. The interior embodied 
possibilities for agriculture and lumbering, admitted 
though undefined. The value of its minerals, notably 
copper, was more assured, and the argument for the new 
departure was that the population, having grown beyond 
scope of the fisheries, was entitled to have the potential 
wealth of the interior developed and new industrial 
avenues opened up for the needy and unemployed. 
Accordingly, in 1880, the rail way policy was launched. 
An American Company undertook to build a narrow 
gauge railroad (3 ft. 6 in.) to Notre Dame Bay, 
with a branch to Harbor Grace, in all 340 miles, for 
5,000 acres of land and a mail subsidy of 530 a mile 
per annum for thirty-five years, and the first sod was 
turned on August 9th, 1881. Bonds of the Company 
were floated in England, and with the money thus 
obtained the work was begun. But mismanagement 
and extravagance soon dissipated the funds, and after 
completing sixty miles the Company defaulted, the line 
reverting to the English bondholders who completed the 
section to Harbor Grace, 84 miles, by November, 1884, 
the colony being left with the experience, and with a 
lawsuit which absorbed thousands of dollars of the tax- 
payers' money in the succeeding years. The Whiteway 
administration, which had inaugurated the railway 
policy, was succeeded in 1885 by the Thorburn Govern- 
ment, which essayed the construction of another section, 
26 miles, from Whitbourne to Placentia, as a public 
work, managed by commissioners and financed out of 
the colonial treasury. This proved so costly that it had 
to be abandoned, and in 1889 it was decided to have the 
line completed by a reputable outside contractor, for 
Sir William Whiteway had again become Premier and 
showed himself as earnest for railway extension as 
before. 



54 

Among those who responded to the invitation to 
construct the proposed line was Mr. (afterwards Sir) 
E/. G. Reid, of Montreal, who had successfully carried out 
several large contracts for the Canadian Pacific Hallway. 
His tender was accepted for 15,600 a mile, payable in 
the colony's forty year 3J per cent, bonds, he under- 
taking their conversion into cash. This contract was 
signed in 1890, the mileage involved being about 280.. 
By 1893 he had the road almost completed to Notre 
Dame Bay, but it then became clear, that in order for it 
to prove of any value to the colony, the line should be 
extended to Port-aux-Basques, the south-western ex- 
tremity of the island, whence daily communication could 
be maintained with the Canadian mainland by a fast 
steamer. Accordingly, another contract was concluded 
with Mr. Eeid for the construction of the western 
division of the road on the same terms. 

Concurrently with this arose the question of operat- 
ing the system when completed, for it was realized that 
it would be a profitless undertaking for the colony to 
attempt to nurture this " infant enterprise," so a further 
agreement was effected with Mr. Held in 1893, by which 
he undertook to operate the road for ten years in return 
for a grant of 5,000 acres of land for each mile of track. 
As he was allowed three years for the construction of 
the railroad, this really made his operation period only 
seven years. 

His idea was to set on foot many labour-giving 
industries, and develop the mineral, agricultural and 
timber lands included in his holdings. He did initiate 
works of this character, but not on a Jarge scale, because 
the seven-year period did not justify more ambitious 
projects, as the road might then pass into the hands of 
parties hostile to him and his ventures. In 1897 he 
proposed to the Whiteway Government to extend his 
operating contract, but in the general election which 
took place that year, the Liberal Ministry was defeated, 
and the Conservative party, led by Sir James Winter,, 






55 

assumed power. The Winter Ministry the next year 
concluded with Mr. Reid the comprehensive contract 
which subsequently became famous as the " Reid deal," 
or " '98 Contract." Its provisions were as follows : I 

The Railway : Mr. Reid undertook to operate the 
entire system of the colony, 638 miles, for fifty years 
for a further land grant of 2,500 acres to each mile of 
track ; and he purchased the reversion of the ownership 
of the property at the end of that period for a present 
payment of 1,000,000. 

The Dry Dock : The colony had built a graving 
dock at St. John's some years previously, at a cost of 
$560,000. It would make an excellent deep-water ter- 
minal for his railway and he purchased it for 325,000 ; 
as the colony was losing heavily on its operation. 

The Telegraphs : To more effectively operate his 
trains and steamers he agreed to purchase the colonial 
telegraph system, 1,000 miles in length, for 125,000 its 
cost to date, and to reduce the rates to the public by 
one-half at the expiration of the Anglo-American 
monopoly in 1904. 

The Mail Steamers : Instead of casual steamers 
around the coast, he undertook to build eight modern, 
high-class boats to serve the whole seaboard, for thirty 
years, at subsidies aggregating 92,300 annually. 

The Lands : Provision for the development of these 
was made, and they were regarded as being the founda- 
tion of the possibilities of the whole undertaking. 

Dealing with these properties in detail, the situation 
was : Mr. Reid held that a proprietary right in the 
railway was essential, as a mere leasehold would be 
insufficient for financial purposes. The combining of 
the steamers with the train service ensured the carriage 
of freights to all parts of the colony on the lowest terms, 
as the rates were assessed by mileage over land or water. 
The dock and telegraphs were both being operated by 
the colony at a loss, and the lands were valueless to the 
people unless they could be developed. 



56 

The criticism levelled against this deal was that the 
Government "sold " the railroad to Mr. Eeid for barely 
one million dollars. The argument, however, on the 
other hand was, first, that by his compact the operation 
of the system was assured for half-a-century and the 
colony relieved of all obligation in this respect, so that 
the railroad was really converted from a liability into 
an asset ; second, that by making so wide-reaching an 
agreement the colony really ensured its own greatest 
development, as only by straining every effort to this 
end could Mr. Reid earn a profit on his investment ; 
third, that he could not remove from the colony the 
railway, dock, telegraphs, lands or any enterprises he 
established, and if he failed in his contract any time in 
the fifty years, these would revert to the colony and his 
million dollars become forfeit ; fourth, that a proprietary 
interest was essential to him in financing the projected 
undertakings, and that if the colony took his million 
dollars and deposited it at compound interest at four per 
cent., the amount it would yield in fifty years would be 
$7,500,000, or enough to build another railroad alongside 
of Contractor Reid's, if it became necessary; not to 
mention at all by that time new agencies, like airships, 
might render his railroad so much old iron. 

The contract, though much criticised, has since 
amply justified itself to the country as it did to the 
Legislature then, as the best arrangement possible in the 
interests of the colony. It passed the House of Assembly 
by a vote of twenty-eight to eight, five members of the 
Opposition, including Sir Edward Morris, the present 
Premier, and his finance minister, the Hon. M. P. Cashin, 
breaking from their party to support it; and in the 
Legislative Council by a vote of fourteen to one. 

The obligations which it imposed upon the 
contractor were loyally carried out, and his measures 
for the development of the country were shaped with 
a view to assuring the permanent character of the 
industries which were to be set on foot. 



CHAPTER VII. 

THE REID PROBLEM AND RECENT POLITICAL 
DEVELOPMENT. 

ELECTION OF 1900 CONTRACT OF 1901 ARBITRATIONS 

-ELECTION OF 1904 BOND-MORRIS RUPTURE OF 1907 

DOUBLE ELECTION, 1908-9 UNIQUE POLITICAL 

COMPLICATION MORRIS MINISTRY WINS. 

MR. REID'S operation of the railway and kindred 
services under his contract was undertaken with 
the determination to set the colony well on the march 
towards real progress and prosperity. Splendid modern 
steamers were built by him for the coast and in-bay 
services. Sumptuous carriages and powerful engines 
were provided for the railway trains. He improved the 
road bed, began a palatial hotel in St. John's, and 
inaugurated several new industries. These develop- 
ments confirmed the contentions of those who advocated 
that the transfer of these public utilities to the 
contractor would be to the public advantage namely, 
that he, being saddled with their operation, would have 
to spend millions in utilizing the resources of the island 
if he was to obtain dividends and ultimately recoup 
himself for his original outlay. 

Influenced by these views, Mr. Reid then proposed 
that the Government, whose sanction was essential, 
permit him to convert his personal holding into a limited 
liability company, capitalized at 25,000,000; one-fifth 
of that sum to be raised at once on mortgage bonds, for 
carrying out the several industries projected, notably a 
pulp mill, designed to be one of the largest in the world. 



58 

Sir Robert Bond, who, as leader of the Opposition 
in the Assembly, succeeded to office on the downfall of 
the Winter Cabinet, was not favorable to this proposition, 
fearing that it concealed an attempt by Mr. Reid to rid 
himself of his personal liability, which was so complete 
that his entire personal estate would have to respond to 
any derelictions, but of which obligations it was con- 
tended that a transfer to a company would relieve him 
in a large measure. He urged the contrary view ; that 
he had secured English capital to assist him in turning 
to profit our wealth of forest and farm, and mine and 
stream, and that the colony's security for carrying out 
the contract obligations was ample, in that all the 
immoveable property involved would revert to the 
colony if he or the proposed company failed to operate 
the system. The Bond Cabinet, however, insisted that 
in return for such a concession Mr. Reid should return 
to the colony the telegraphs, modify his land grants in 
the interest of the settlers, and so as to ensure the 
reservation of tracts for various public purposes, give 
guarantees as to the amount of money to be spent 
in the colony of the sum raised, and relinquish his 
proprietary right in the railway. He accepted the 
second and third conditions, but rejected the others. 

On this issue the general election of 1900 was 
fought, Premier Bond being returned with a following 
of thirty-two, while the Opposition carried only four 
seats, including that of the leader, Mr. A. B. Morine. 
Despite the result of the election, it was recognized that 
the operation of the railroad by the Government would 
be impossible ; and that only by the inauguration of 
diversified industries along the line by Mr. Reid could 
this venture be made a financial success ; and in the 
benefits of this, the colony and its people must of course 
largely share. 

Accordingly, in the summer of 1901, the Bond 
Ministry concluded a further contract with Mr. Reid. 
By its terms he surrendered the reversion of the owner- 



59 

ship of the railroad on being returned his one million 
dollars with interest at six per cent, for the time 
the colony had held it, he accepting a leasehold 
interest in the railroad for fifty years ; he surrendered 
2,550,000 acres of land, which had accrued to him under 
the 1898 contract, receiving 850,000 in cash therefor ; 
and he surrendered the telegraphs under an agreement 
that either side might submit its claim for damages to 
arbitration. He had meanwhile an outstanding claim 
for rolling stock and equipment, provided under previous 
contracts, in excess of those which he was required to 
supply, and this was likewise arbitrated, resulting in an 
award for him of 894,000, while an arbitration in 1905 
as to the telegraphs, won him an award of 1,500,000. 
Before this latter award the general election of 1904 
took place, and its approach was waited with keen 
interest, because in a by-election in the autumn of 1902 
the candidates of the Ministry sustained a decided 
reverse, a result ascribed partly to a short fishery and 
partly to popular dissatisfaction at the substantial 
monetary victories secured by Contractor Reid, who 
had obtained, as shown above, nearly three million 
dollars in casli already, and had this telegraph arbitration 
still outstanding. 

The struggle in 1904 was further complicated by 
the fact that the opposition now really consisted of two 
factions one led by Mr. A. E. Goodridge (an ex- 
Premier), and Mr. Morine ; and the other by Sir William 
Whiteway, another ex-Premier and Mr. D. Morison, an 
ex- judge of the Supreme Court, while Sir James Winter 
(ex- judge and ex-Premier), also entered the field, the 
whole combining their forces in the end, so that the 
persons opposing the Bond-Morris Ministry might be 
fairly described as having five leaders and embracing 
every element in the island disaffected with the party in 
power. 

At the merging of all these diverse interests the 
country took alarm, and it being charged against them 



60 

that their underlying object was union 'with Canada, 
the aggregation suffered a crushing defeat. Mr. Morine 
alone held his district, all the other leaders meeting 
disaster, and he found himself with but five followers in 
the Assembly. This sweeping victory occasioned no 
small surprise, seeing that the previous by-elections 
had gone otherwise, and as the result practically meant 
the disappearance of most of these Opposition factors 
from the political arena permanently, it was generally 
considered that Sir Robert Bond's administration 
was guaranteed by this election a long continuance 
in office. 

However, in July, 1907, Sir Edward Morris, then 
Minister of Justice in the Bond Cabinet, resigned his 
portfolio and broke from that party, having disagreed 
with the Premier on the amount to be paid labourers 
employed on Public Works, and he and Sir Robert Bond 
having practically entered public life together, been 
colleagues in the Whiteway Ministry for many years, 
and Sir Edward being Sir Robert's "right-hand man" 
in his own Ministry, it was seen at once that his with- 
drawal portended stirring events in the political arena. 
These expectations were soon amply justified. Mr. 
Morine had left the colony the previous year and 
established himself in Canada. The Opposition was 
then being led by Captain Charles Dawe, who, however, 
was in poor health and died during the ensuing year, 
when the Hon. I). Morison, the present Attorney- General, 
succeeded him, having been elected for Mr. Morine's 
seal. This regular Opposition and prominent supporters 
of Sir Edward Morris now combined and invited him to 
assume the leadership of a united party ; and to this he 
agreed, issuing a manifesto to the electorate in March, 
1908, setting forth his policy. He also assumed a 
vigorous course in the Legislature in that session, and, 
being remarkable for his energy and foresight, he 
speedily secured effective Lacking throughout the 
island. The quadrennial general election being due 



61 

in November 1908, the intervening period was occupied 
by both sides in planning for a campaign unique in the 
island's history. The election was held in November 
and resulted in Sir Robert Bond and Sir Edward Morris 
each securing eighteen seats. This was regarded as a 
notable achievement for the latter, because he suffered 
from three disadvantages. First, he was a Roman 
Catholic and the adherents of that faith numbering but 
one-third of the total population, and every Premier for 
fifty years having been a Protestant, this was a serious 
handicap, as sectarian appeals are not uncommon in the 
bitter election contests waged here. Then, he was 
accused of being at heart an advocate of union with 
Canada, and it was also charged that he was in close 
sympathy with Contractor lieid ; the expiring embers 
of the fires of political animosity against this corporation 
being fanned into renewed life in the hope of injuring 
him. 

The Bond Ministry, on its part, enjoyed the advan- 
tage of possession of office and control of all the election 
machinery, valuable factors in local political struggles ; 
but, on the other hand, it suffered from the real or 
imaginary sins of eight years of power. When the 
results were finalized and each leader had seventeen 
followers, speculation as to the outcome was intensified. 
Premier Bond had elected every departmental officer, 
and it only remained for him to secure an adherent from 
the Morris side to break the deadlock and, possibly, in 
a second election, to win easily, while the Morrisites, on 
their part, if they gained a recruit from the Bondites, 
would have to face at least six by-elections, consequent 
upon the appointment of as many members to the 
departmental portfolios. 

The colony was fortunate in having as its Governor 
at the time Sir William MacGregor, a man of exceptional 
ability, who studied thoroughly every phase of constitu- 
tional questions. The problem which beset him could 
exist in no other British colony. The Legislature had 



62 

to meet in the early winter, so that the Bond Ministry 
might have an opportunity to pass the necessary appro- 
priation bills, and if they could not do this, that they 
might resign and give place to a Morris Ministry, who 
should enjoy and fail to profit by a similar opportunity ; 
and even in such an event time had to be provided for 
a possible coalition Ministry to be formed ; and if that 
proved impossible a new general election would be 
necessary, while to hold this in the spring would be very 
difficult. Sir Robert Bond was required by the 
Governor to summon the Legislature ; and having done so, 
recommended him. on the eve of the Session, to dissolve 
the Parliament which had been elected in November, 
without affording it an opportunity to meet, and to grant 
him another appeal to the electorate. This the Governor 
declined to do, and then, in accordance with recognized 
usage, Premier Bond, when the Governor declined his 
advice, tendered his resignation and that of his Cabinet. 
The Governor now invited Sir Edward Morris to form a 
Ministry, which he did; and, unlike his predecessor, 
actually had the Legislature meet and attempted to 
elect a Speaker, but this attempt the Bond party defeated, 
by voting against nominees from both sides of the 
House. The Governor next attempted to secure the 
formation of a coalition Ministry, and called into con- 
sultation other ex-Premiers, but they were unable to 
help him, so he granted a dissolution to Sir Edward 
Morris. 

He was bitterly censured by the Bondites for alleged 
partisanship in this course, but his reasons for the step 
he took seem all-conclusive. He appears to have argued 
that Sir Robert Bond had enjoyed the advantage of an 
appeal to the country and had not been sustained ; that 
Sir Robert Bond, when the Legislature met, had pursued 
an unpatriotic policy in refusing to allow the election of 
a Speaker, and that if a second appeal to the country 
became necessary, it was only fair that Sir Edward 
Morris should be given the opportunity of facing the 



63 

country with the reins of power, as Sir Robert Bond had 
been given the previous autumn. Accordingly, the 
Governor dissolved the Legislature on April 10th, and 
ordered an election for May 8th, which resulted in the 
Morris Ministry being confirmed in office, carrying 
twenty-six seats against ten secured by the Bond party ; 
every seat won by the Morrisites in the autumn election 
being retained by them in the spring and ten others 
captured from the Bondites, while now every depart- 
mental officer under the Morris Administration retained 
his seat by a substantial majority. The result was 
regarded by the country generally as amply vindicating 
the course taken by Sir William MacGregor, who also 
won the approval of the Imperial authorities, as testified 
by a despatch from the Colonial Office, signed by Lord 
Crewe and dated November 14th, in which the Secretary 
of State observed : 

" I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt 
" of your telegram of the 12th of May, regarding 
" the result of the general election in Newfound- 
" land. It will be learned from my previous 
" despatches and telegrams that your action 
" throughout the difficult political situation, which 
" was created in the colony by the indecisive 
" result of the last general election has met with 
" my approval, but 'I desire to place publicly on 
" record my high appreciation of the manner in 
" which you have handled a situation practically 
" unprecedented in the history of responsible 
" Government in the Dominions. I may add 
" that I consider your decision to grant a dissolu- 
" tion to Sir Edward Morris which has, I 
" observe, been adversely criticized in a section 
" of the Newfoundland press, to have been fully 
" in accordance with the principles of responsible 
" Government." 



64 



CHAPTER VIII. 
THE REID ENTERPRISES. 

RAILWAY SYSTEM SPLENDID STEAMERS DRY DOCK 

AND MACHINE AND CAR SHOPS STREET 

RAILWAY AND ELECTRIC UTILITIES 

TRAFFIC FIGURES. 

THE railway is very substantially constructed and very 
efficiently operated: the road-bed is splendidly 
built ; the rails are the best procurable ; the bridges 
are of steel with granite abutments, and the rolling 
stock is the finest that is made. Express trains cross 
the island every alternate day in either direction, and 
the present summer will see a daily express service 
inaugurated. These trains are made up of ordinary 
baggage and mail cars, coaches for second class and first 
class passengers ; dining cars and sleeping cars, all of 
the style used on the Canadian Pacific Line. Through 
freights trains are run every day, and morning and 
evening trains ply between St. John's and Carbonear, 
along the shore of Conception Bay, and likewise to 
Placentia, the chief town in the Bay of that name. A. 
splendid granite station is the head-quarters of the 
Reid system in St. John's ; machine shops of the most 
approved type are established in the vicinity and avail- 
able both for the repair and construction of railway 
equipment and for steamers and vessels effecting changes 
in the Dry Dock near by. At all the principal points 
along the main line and the branches, substantial and 
commodious stations have been erected, and at the 




Photo.'] 



A bit of Coast Scenery, Bay of Islands, 




Photo.'] 



On the little River Codroy. 



//II 




S- 

PQ 



65 

terminals point, where the several bay steamers connect 
with the trains, substantial wharves and adequate 
freight ships are provided. The Company's steamers 
are equally up-to-date and satisfactory in every respect. 
The Bruce, plying between Port-aux-Basques and 
North Sydney, Cape Breton, where she connected every 
other day with the Intercolonial Railway system of 
Canada, and thus enabled communication to be made 
with every part of the outside world, had become almost 
a household word in the colony, during her twelve 
years' performance of this service, until she was unfor- 
tunately wrecked on the Nova Scotia coast last March. 
She wasaseventeen-knot steamer of clipper type, specially 
constructed to withstand ice, and was the staunchest 
and stoutest ship in North American waters ; costing 
$250,000, having excellent accommodation for passengers, 
and even in mid-winter able to battle with the heaviest 
ice floes and to make her trips, except on rare occasions, 
with clockwork regularity. Slightly smaller than the 
Bruce is the Glencoe, which plies between Port-aux- 
Basques and Placentia every week, touching at the 
principal ports on the south coast and connecting with 
the Bruce and the west coast by rail at Port-aux- 
Basques, and with St. John's and the eastern coast via 
the railway at Placentia. The Argyle, one of the bay 
boats, operates in Placentia Bay ; the Dundee in 
Bonavista Bay ; the Clyde in Notre Dame Bay ; and 
the Home between Bay of Islands and Belle Isle Strait 
on the west coast, while the Invermore, a ship of the 
same size, speed and accommodation as the Bruce, plies 
between St. John's and Labrador during the summer 
months. All these ships are sumptuously appointed, 
admirably maintained, and handled by such capable 
masters and crews that accidents are rare and loss of 
life unknown ; it being the record of the railroad, too, 
that it has never killed a passenger. It is proposed to 
have a daily steamer on Cabot Strait this summer, as 
well as a daily train across the Island. The growth 



66 

of the traffic of the E/eid system the past six years is 
attested by the following figures : 

1903-4. 1909-10. 

No. of Passengers Carried ... 136,010 194,844 

Tons of Freight Carried 122,935 173,343 

Miles run, Passenger Trains ... 150,425 207,573 

Miles run, Freight Trains ... 51,296 78,366 

Miles run, Mixed Trains ... 200,821 287,529 

Passenger Traffic Earnings ... $206,940 $274,490 

Freight Traffic Earnings 159,941 231,266 

Mail Traffic Earnings 41,812 42,000 

Other Earnings 22,724 43,834 

The railroad starts from the Dry Dock in St. 
John's, which is deep water terminal and runs through 
the Waterford Valley, a delightfully picturesque suburb 
of the city, for about four miles, when it traverses the 
section of the peninsula to Topsail, in Conception Bay, 
a beautiful watering place, much affected by the city's 
residents during the summer months. Then it skirts 
the South Shore of Conception Bay, keeping within 
sight of the ocean and of farming villages the whole 
way. From Holy rood, at the head of that Bay, it runs 
inland a few miles and at Brigus junction a branch line 
continues along: the north shore through several populous 
centres to Harbor Grace, the second town in the colony ; 
and three miles further, to Carbonear, the present 
terminus there, though it is proposed next year to 
extend this branch to Grate's Cove, the tip of that 
peninsula. Erom Brigus Junction the main line con- 
tinues to Whitbourne, where another spur extends to 
Broad Cove in Trinity Bay and across the peninsula 
also to Harbor Grace. The Broad Cove branch is being 
extended the present year to Heart's Content, the 
landing place of five submarine cables. Seven miles 
beyond Whitbourne is Placentia Junction, whence a 
line of twenty -six miles extends to Placentia and taps 
that Bay, all of this country being more or less settled 
and given over to agricultural pursuits. Thence the 
road traverses the Isthmus of Avalon, where, from the 



67 

car windows can be seen the waters of both Trinity and 
Placentia Bays. Still going north, the railway crosses 
the Terranova, Gambo and Gander Valleys, through 
tracts extensively wooded and which it is hoped will 
see pulp and paper enterprises in the future. 

Two important points passed in this section are 
Clarenville, the terminal for the Trinity Bay Steamer, 
and Port Blandford, the terminal for the Bon avis ta Bay 
ship. About 240 miles from St. John's, Notre Dame 
Junction is reached, whence a spur, nine miles long, 
connects with Lewisport, the terminal of the steamer 
on Notre Dame Bay, while seven miles further Norris 
Arm is reached, where the valley of the Exploits is 
entered and beautiful panoramas of fiord scenery are 
disclosed. The Exploits is crossed at Bishop Falls, 
twelve miles from its mouth, and here can be seen the 
pulp and paper works of the Albert Heed Company. 
Eight miles further up the river, on its north bank, 
Grand Ealls is reached, the home of the great Harms- 
worth pulp and paper enterprise, the pioneer of its 
kind in Newfoundland and the second largest, in point 
of size, in the world. Eor some miles the river is in 
full view, with densely wooded forest country visible in 
the background, while the nearer tracts promise splendid 
cultivation. At Badger Brook the road leaves that 
valley, takes a north-west route across the White Hill 
plains, climbing these to the Topsails country, the great 
central plateau being crossed at an elevation of 1,737 
feet above sea level. The line then follows the course 
of Kitty's Brook to the north-east of Grand Lake, 
continuing along the south side of Deer Lake and down 
the delightful Humber Valley to Bay of Islands, which 
it traverses completely, circling round towering bluffs, 
and then through the Harry's Brook valley to Bay 
St. George. Erom this point it passes back of the 
Anguille mountains along the valley of the Codroy Rivers 
to Cape Eay and skirts the seaboard to Port-aux- 
Basques, which is its western terminal. 



68 

. Last year the Reid Company took further contracts 
to construct branch lines of railroad ; from Clarenville 
through the Bonavista peninsula in Bonavista town, the 
work of which was about four-fifths completed last year 
and will be finished early this summer; from Broad 
Cove to Heart's Content; from Carbonear to Grate's 
Cove ; from St. John's along the eastern front of the 
Avalon Peninsula to Trepassey, near Cape Race ; from 
the Avalon Peninsula south-west to Fortune Bay ; and 
from Deer Lake to Bonne Bay. The total mileage is 
about 300 and the construction figure is $15,000 a mile, 
payable in cash, as against $15,600 a mile, payable in 
l3onds in the past ; with 4,000 acres of land per mile for 
operating for forty years, as against 5,000 acres for the 
fifty-year operation of the main line, ten years of which 
have practically expired. 

As already stated, the Reid Company maintains 
eight steamers operating in connection with the railroad 
system, touching practically every settlement of im- 
portance in the island and on Labrador, and by their 
connecting with each other, they enable the traveller to 
circumnavigate the island, and business to be done most 
expeditiously and economically between every centre of 
population in the Island. Eor freight and passenger 
traffic purposes, the mileage of the railroads and steamers 
is regarded as one, and through rates are given. 

The operations of the combined system are entirely 
satisfactory to the travelling and business public, and 
the efficient and up-to-date administration of the whole 
is commended, both by the resident and visitors. 

In St. John's the Reid Company operates the 
graving dock in the west end of the port on a very 
large and steadily expanding scale. It is constantly 
occupied by steam and sailing vessels, the Company's 
own flotilla and other co.-istwise steamers, the powerful 
sealing fleet, scores of fish-freighters, foreign ships, and 
the hundreds of local fishing crafts ; while in the vicinity 
the Company has various mechanical enterprises. There 



69 

are machine shops, where boilers are built, marine and 
locomotives engines constructed, all parts and fittings 
for steamers and railway cars made and repaired ; and 
in car-shops adjoining, the Company now builds its own 
freight vans and passenger coaches, including sleeping 
and dining cars; and has undertaken, in its latest 
contract, to build the locomotives and every other class 
of rolling stock required iu, the operation of the whole 
railroad. This, as might be imagined, calls for the 
employment of an army of skilled mechanics and other 
operatives. 

In St. John's, too, the Company operates the street 
car system and supplies the electric light for heating 
and power purposes. The necessary electricity is 
generated at Petty Harbor, some twelve miles from the 
city, through the agency of a chain of lakes occupying 
that section of the country, and which were granted to 
the Company for this purpose. 

In the original project of 1898 the erection of a 
suitable modern hotel in St. John's was contemplated, 
and work was actually begun on it, the concrete foun- 
dations having been put in and some of the material 
for the superstructure actually being in course of 
preparation, when the resulting difficulties caused 
Contractor Heid to abandon the project. Latterly the 
movement for a hotel has regained vigor and activity, 
and while the Reid Company has since shown no special 
desire to move in the matter again, it is hoped that 
eventually arrangements may be made whereby this 
Company will take a foremost part in the promotion of 
this undertaking, the necessary complement to the other 
phases of enterprise and progress with which it has 
become associated in the public mind at home and 
abroad in assisting in the material development of 
Newfoundland. 



70 



CHAPTER IX. 
CROWN LANDS. 

LAWS RESPECTING CROWN LANDS CONDITIONS FOR 

OBTAINING SAME GENEROUS CONCESSIONS FOR 

INTENDING SETTLERS OR INVESTORS. 



HE public domain of the Colony, including its 
lakes, streams, and other fresh -water areas, and 
embracing as well that portion of Labrador which 
is a dependency of Newfoundland, is vested in the 
Crown, and, save where grants have been made to 
corporations or individuals for farming, mining or other 
purposes, the whole of its areas are known as " Crown 
Lands," and administered by the Department of Agri- 
culture and Mines. 

The laws which regulate the selling or leasing of 
Crown Lands for various purposes are most liberal in 
character, and framed specially to promote the settlement 
of the country and the development of its natural 
resources. 

Such lands (and waters) may become temporarily 
or permanently the property of persons or companies 
for honiesteading, farming, mining, lumbering, pulp or 
paper making, quarrying, peat-making, fish breeding, 
etc., through the agency of licenses, leases and grants 
in fee simple. Under the term " minerals " are included 
petroleum and other mineral oils, and under the term 
"timber" are included trees, standing or cut, or cut 
into logs, but not sawn into board or otherwise manu- 
factured, it also including the bark of trees. 



71 

In the past, criticism has been directed against the 
Eeid Company because it has been granted so much of 
the public domain, but the answer to such complaint 
is, that a strip eight miles deep, along one side of the 
railway line would more than comprehend all the lands 
this company has acquired, leaving the corresponding 
strip on the opposite side of the track and all the rest of 
the lands in the Island, as well as on " Newfoundland " 
Labrador, available for every other purpose and interest. 

Moreover, the Reid Company has a standing offer 
to sell lands to any person who wishes them for farming 
or settlement purposes, at thirty cents an acre, which is 
the Government's upset price therefor ; being prepared 
as well, to lease or sell them for mining, lumbering or 
paper-making purposes at reasonable terms. The Com- 
pany, in other words, realizes that it can only promote 
the settling and developing of the country by offering 
favorable inducements to all intending to locate on the 
land or establish new industries in the colony, since 
such will mean enhanced prosperity and increasing 
business for the company's railroad and steamships. 

FARM LANDS. 

Crown Lands are sold for farming prices at an upset 
price fixed according to their location and value, but in 
no case less than thirty cents an acre ; every grant of 
more than twenty acres requiring the grantee within 
five years, to clear and cultivate in good faith ten acres 
for every 100 acres in the grant, no grant of more than 
640 acres being made to any one person, except in 
special cases. 

Larger areas up to 6,400 acres are granted, con- 
ditional on the licensee settling upon the land within 
two years one family for each 160 acres, and in five 
years clearing two acres per year for every one hundred 
acres, continuing them under cultivation and families 
thereon for ten years more, when he is entitled to a 
grant in fee of the said land. 



72 

Areas of 5,000 acres may be acquired on clearing 
and cropping specified quantities annually and settling 
families thereon, as above. The Crown may set apart 
from time to time, lands to lay out for towns or villages, 
or other public purposes, and survey and lay out the 
same ; and set apart lands for the sites of market places, 
public buildings, court houses, churches, cemeteries, 
schools, parks, pasturages, bogs, beaches or shores for 
general public purposes. 

The holder in all cases must preserve at least 5 per 
cent, of all trees or wooded lands as shelter for stock, 
and, where there are no trees, must plant and cultivate 
twenty trees annually for ten years, for every acre held, 
while there is also reservation for public use of not less 
than twenty- five feet, around all lakes and ponds and 
both banks of all rivers. 

BOG LANDS. 

Leases are granted for quantities not exceeding 
5,000 acres, of such areas as are declared after survey 
and report, to be bog lands, holders of which must 
utilize them for peat-making and similar purposes, for 
such term, at such rent and subject to such conditions, 
as the Crown may stipulate. 

QUARRY LANDS. 

Leases are granted of land for quarrying purposes, 
for terms not exceeding 99 years, and for areas of not 
more than eighty acres, at rentals of not less than 25 
cents an acre annually ; the lessee to begin work within 
two years and continue it effectively during the term, 
while he may obtain a grant in fee on expending $6,000 
in quarrying on the land, within five years. 

WATER POWERS. 

Leases are granted for terms of years of the right 
to use the waters of any river for driving machinery, 
subject to such rent and conditions as the Crown may 
prescribe, and to the preservation of the vested rights 



73 

of all persons holding lands whose interests may be 
affected by the use of such water with a fine of $100 
for each offence for introducing sawdust or other 
deleterious matter into such water. 

FISH BREEDING. 

For the encouraging of the breeding of fish, leases 
are granted for terms of years of the right to use any 
pond or river, or such quantity of land adjoining the 
same, as may be necessary for fish-breeding purposes, 
subject to such conditions as are deemed expedient. 

TIMBER AND PULP. 

Licenses are granted to cut timber on Crown Lands 
for the manufacture of timber and pulp, for periods of 
ninety -nine years, subject to the following conditions 

(a) The right to cut timber to be at a bonus 
per square mile, varying according to the situation 
and value of the land, and not less than 2 per 
square mile, this to be paid within thirty days from 
the date of approval. 

(b) The licensee to erect a sawmill or mills or 
a pulp or paper factory or factories, and to operate 
the same in good faith and continuously, according 
to the conditions prescribed by the Crown and 
embodied in the license. He must take from every 
tree cut down all the timber fit for use and make 
it into sawn lumber or other products ; prevent 
any needless destruction of growing timber by his 
men ; exercise strict and constant supervision to 
prevent forest fires ; make sworn returns quarterly 
of the quantity of marketable materials taken from 
his area and the price or value thereof ; and pay in 
addition to the bonus above, an annual Crown rent 
of $2 per square mile, and a royalty of fifty cents 
per thousand feet board measure for all trees cut 
down only half this rate being extracted as to 
lands on Labrador ; his books to be subject to 
inspection by officials authorised therefor, to verify 



74 

his returns. The license describes the land and 
vests in the licensee exclusive possession, subject 
to the conditions of the Act, with power to seize 
as his property any timber cut therefrom by any 
unauthorised person and to bring suits against such 
persons and prosecute trespassers; though other 
parties may be granted farming or mining rights 
on such lands, and any fisherman may cut from 
such lands for the bond fide needs of the fisheries, 
fencing, firewood and similar purposes. The 
licensee becomes forfeit for non-payment of rent 
or royalties within six months of the date when 
same are due, and for the infraction of any other 
condition, the licensee and his assigns are liable 
to a penalty of not less than $10 and not more 
than $100 per day while such continues. 

Every applicant for a timber license must, at his 
own cost, have the area surveyed and the boundary 
lines marked and diagrams filed within a year, or his 
claim is forfeited, but if he can prove that for adequate 
reasons these conditions could not be complied with, the 
time may be extended for another year, but not longer, 
by paying a rent for the year then past and an extra 
bonus of $2 per square mile. 

No persons without license may cut, take or carry 
away from ungranted Crown Lands, and no licensee 
may remove timber from his lands until the same has 
been made into pulp, lumber, etc., under penalty of $20 
for every tree, besides its value ; and no holder of any 
grant, lease or license, or Government contractor, 
servant, assignee or agent of such person may cut 
timber on any Crown Lands, other than under the terms 
of the said grant, lease or license, or purchase timber 
cut on such lands under similar penalty. 

MINERAL LANDS. 

Any person may search and prospect for mineral 
upon all lands in the colony without license to search, 



75 

and may explore the same by all such means as may be 
necessary to prove their mineral worth, whether by 
surface or subterranean prospecting or excavation, 
provided such is in good faith to obtain a mining 
location and lease ; but no person may take away any 
greater quantity of ore than needed for samples, though 
this section does not apply to any limit reserved by the 
Crown for any purpose, nor does it give any exclusive 
right to the searcher. 

Any person discovering mineral on Crown Land 
and desirous of obtaining a license thereof, must mark 
the deposit by driving into the ground a stake with 
his name and the date thereon ; and then applying 
for a license for a year by filing affidavit and diagram, 
with deposit of $10 ; any license granted will cover an 
area one mile by one-half mile ; and other areas adjoining 
this may be secured at the same time by paying $10 for 
each : other parties can also secure areas there, 
without staking, on paying the same fee. At the end 
of twelve months, if the lessee notifies his intention, and 
deposits $20 as one year's rental, he is entitled to a 
lease for 99 years, subject to the payment of the follow- 
ing rents : $20 for the first year, $30 annually for the 
next five years, $50 annually for twenty-five years, 
and $100 annually for the remainder of the term, 
all these rents to be paid in advance. Applica- 
tion for licenses of mining locations may be made 
without staking if the locations are covered by the 
sea or tidal waters, or are situated on an island off the 
coast of Newfoundland or Labrador, which does not 
exceed an area of 320 acres, or if the whole area of the 
island be applied for ; but a lease under water does not 
entitle the holder to construct buildings or carry on 
works which would prevent the holder of adjoining laud 
from access to it over such water. The lessee may pay 
in advance the whole or any part of the rental ; and 
payment of the whole, for the entire term, entitles him 
to a lease for 99 years free from liability to forfeiture 



76 

for any cause whatever, while an outlay of $6,000 
during the first five years in surface mining, or within ten 
years in subterranean mining, entitles to a grant in fee 
simple of the minerals in the area. Every lessee gets 
fifty acres of unoccupied surface land within his location 
for his mining needs, and can obtain from the Crown 
right-of-way for trams and roads, sites for wharves and 
piers, and more surface land, if required, while if he 
needs to traverse private property with tramways or for 
mining, or more surface land, and is unable to agree 
with the owner of the property as to terms, the Crown 
may adjust the matter by arbitration. Special con- 
ditions are prescribed for obtaining rights to work 
submarine mining areas through other such areas. 

The Crown officials have free access to all mining 
enterprises for purposes of inspection ; and books of 
account of the working of mines must be kept by the 
lessee and be open to these officials. 

Where sufficient money has been spent on one or 
more mining locations in boring for oil, the lessee is 
entitled to a grant in fee of any one or more as the case 
may be, which he may select. The holder of a mineral 
lease may acquire foreshore and water areas for 
wharves, quays and other buildings, or other purposes 
connected with his mine, but no mineral lease may 
interfere with the granting of surface land over that 
lease for farming, lumbering or other purposes, except 
to the extent of fifty acres as aforesaid. Non-payment 
of mining fees entails forfeiture of the areas. 



CHAPTER X. 
LUMBERING. 

FOREST WEALTH. POTENTIAL VALUE. GRADES OF 

LUMBER. How INDUSTRY HAS DEVELOPED. 

FAVOURABLE FUTURE OUTLOOK. 

NEWFOUNDLAND, while not claiming to be re- 
garded as possessing unequalled timber resources, 
still bolds undisputed forest wealth, and that has helped 
to swell the volume and value of its exports for many 
years, besides providing for all the local requirements in 
the way of lumber. Thus it has afforded employment 
to hundreds, and latterly the wooded tracts unsuited for 
lumbering are being profitably utilized in the manufac- 
ture of pulp and paper, the Island being to-day the home 
of two of the world's finest paper mills, while others are 
likely to follow ere long. 

Until recently, little or no effort was made to pre- 
serve the potential wealth represented by the vast 
wooded areas with which the interior was covered ; and 
not until the present Government assumed office was 
an effective measure adopted for grappling with this 
all-important problem, through the energetic efforts of 
Sir Edward Morris, who, in April, 1910, summoned a 
convention at St. John's of all the parties interested in 
the utilization and preservation of its forest wealth, 
which resulted in the adoption of plans that have proved 
successful in effectively patrolling the woodlands and 
preventing forest fires. 

The Prime Minister, in his speech in opening this 
conference, pointed out that, allowing 14,000 square 
miles of forest land in the colony, and assuming it 



78 

worth. $45,000 per square mile, according to the estimate 
of the Harmsworth Company, the valuation of this 
wooded territory would therefore be, in potential labour 
alone, $630,000,000 ; but even if this estimate were cut 
in half, its forest wealth would still represent the very 
large sum of $315,000,000. Assuming moreover, that 
one-thirtieth of this area was cut for pulp wood to be used 
in making pulp and paper every year, and fixing thirty 
years as the period of rotation for the cutting of the 
forests, there would thus be provided labour for the 
people to the equivalent of $10,000,000 annually, an 
amount equal to the value of the whole of the Island's 
fisheries at the present time. 

This estimate is made up thus : Every ton of paper 
represents at least $12 paid directly or indirectly to the 
wage-earners engaged from the time the tree is cut 
down in the forest to the time the finished product is 
put on board ship. Every ton of paper represents 
roughly, a cord and a half of wood. An acre of good 
forest land will produce about nine cords; in other 
words, every acre of good average forest land supplies 
the raw material for about six tons of paper, and thus 
represents not less than $72 as a potential source of 
wages. This means further, that every square mile of 
good forest land protected from devastation by forest 
fires, represents about $45,000 preserved as a source of 
wages to the community. 

In Newfoundland the forest areas reproduce them- 
selves so rapidly, that any tract, cut out or burned over, 
will yield within thirty years wood fit for making pulp 
and paper. Director Howley of the Colonial Geological 
Survey, who has had over 40 years' experience in that 
service, and is the best living authority on the resources 
of the Islaod, has carefully studied this problem, and 
supplies conclusive testimony that such conditions are 
to be relied upon. One of the drawbacks frequently 
incidental to the business in other countries is, the slow 
reproductivity of the forest growth ; but here it can be 



79 

definitely apprehended that all denuded forest areas 
will be again available within thirty years. 

The Newfoundland timber is chiefly found in the river 
valleys and around the shores of the lakes and streams. It 
suffers somewhat from the trees being normally too thick, 
so that they crowd each other and their growth is stunted. 
When, however, judicious cutting is practised and forests 
are thinned, the remaining trees grow much more rapidly 
and attain greater height and girth. 

The forest wealth is varied and extensive. The 
trees include white pine, yellow pine, red pine, spruce, 
fir, juniper, white birch, yellow birch, witch hazel, 
aspen, aider, white maple and numerous others. The 
white pine is very superior in quality and the mainstay 
of the lumbering industry. Latterly profitable markets 
have been developed for it in South America, and it has 
even proved possible to make substantial sales of it at 
New York and Boston on beneficial conditions. It 
compares favorably with the Canadian article and is 
sought after by dealers. The trees are from 12 to 36 
inches at the butt, and go forty feet before a limb is 
reached, then stretching 10 to 30 feet further. 

The red pine grows plentifully and is used extensively 
for vehicles and household furniture. It is also used 
for railway ties. The fir known in England as 
" balsam " is notably excellent and superior to that of 
Nova Scotia. It grows to good size and is unusually 
sound. It is largely used for house-building of late and 
has been successfully employed in making pulp and 
paper. Spruce is chiefly used for this, however, and 
the island has enormous areas of what is now known 
locally as "pulp-woods." 

Spruce goes largely into local use also, for rough 
building work, where its great strength gives it a prefer- 
ence. The jumper, really a species of larch, and known 
in Canada as tamarack, is in goodly demand for ship 
building, as it is durable and resists the sea water, while 
birch is also much employed in the same industry. 
There are quantities of white birch suitable for spool 



80 

wood, and this is also used for finishing work in house 
carpentering and cabinet-making. 

The timber belt exists principally in the north- 
eastern parts of the Island ; and along the Exploits 
River and its tributaries, the Gander River and Lake, 
the Gambo Pond and streams, Grand Lake, Deer Lake, 
and the Humber Rivers, and the rivers flowing into 
St. George's Bay and Bay of Islands. These timber 
areas have been more or less cruised and rough estimates 
made as to the kind and quantity of timber they con- 
tain. But only small percentages of these timber limits 
have been cut over, so the forests are all virgin growth, 
except where swept by fire ; and even in this case pine 
is not necessarily injured as saleable lumber. Decay 
does not set in for years, and pine lands burnt a decade 
ago are now producing wood that lumber dealers welcome, 
being dry, easily handled and not affected by worms, 
owing to the climatic conditions. 

The Government is now carefully considering 
re-afforesting measures, not so much because it is 
thought that there will be any immediate necessity 
therefor, but owing to the desirability in the general 
interest, to ensure that the fullest possible advantages 
may be given to those who contemplate investment in 
the forest resources of the colony. 

What is true regarding the forest resources of 
Newfoundland is likewise mainly true of those of 
Labrador, where Newfoundland owns the eastern section 
and therefore the outlets to the Atlantic of all the 
territory drained by Sandwich Bay, Hamilton Inlet, and 
the lesser fiords which indent that coast, and the timber 
resources of which are believed to be enormous. Official 
reports show much of the country to be splendidly 
wooded ; and Sir William MacGregor, the late Governor 
of Newfoundland, an explorer of repute who travelled 
extensively in New Guinea and Lagos, visited that ter- 
ritory in the summers of 1906 and 1908, and in his 
official reports described the great areas of timber he 




P/10/,1.] 



Marble Head Humber River. 



[Holloway. 




Paddling along a Steady. 




Photo.'] 



Cascade, St. Paul's. 



81 

had seen, confidently predicting that Labrador would 
one day become the centre of great lumbering industries. 
One advantage enjoyed by Newfoundland in this 
respect is, that all its wooded areas are within easy access 
of the seaboard. With deep bays and inlets, numerous 
harbours and railway communication, it is possible to 
transfer these products to shipboard with the least cost 
and delay. There is no part of the Island more than 57 
miles from the sea, and mostly all of the principal 
timber properties are located along the railway line or 
within convenient outlet to the ocean. Other advan- 
tages enjoyed by the colony in respect of its forest 
areas are, that it is so near the British Isles and the 
American continent, being only 1,500 to 1,700 miles 
from either, and that abundant and efficient labour is 
obtainable at lower figures than in Canada or America, 
experience having proved that the colonists become as 
capable lumbermen as any from abroad, after a year's 
training in the work. 

The official returns for the fiscal year 1909-10 show 
that during that period 273 saw-mills were being 
operated, the aggregate output of which was 44,500,000 
feet of lumber of different kinds, valued at $624,764, 
besides which, 35,000,000 feet of timber was cut by the 
Harms worth Company for use in its pulp and paper 
mills. The 273 saw-mills employed 3,900 men for 
about five months, and averaging their wages at 25 a 
month for this period, these mills disbursed for labour 
iilone $488,750, which amount shows that this industry 
returns perhaps a larger percentage of its earnings to 
workmen than any other in the Island. Of the total 
number of saAvmills above stated, only 16 are being 
supplied with timber cut from licensed areas, the other 
257 drawing their supply from Crown Lands and chiefly 
from the areas along the coast. The export of lumber 
has declined the past few years, because some of the 
areas, the product of which was largely cut into lumber, 
have now been included within the sections devoted to 



82 

pulp and paper production. Still, during 1909-10 the 
sawmill operations were larger than at any time since 
the inception of this industry, the output of lumber 
being 10 per cent, greater than for the previous year, 
when the total cut by 270 mills was 40,000,000 ft., 
valued at 510,128. 

The domestic demand for lumber is increasing 
largely every year, partly by the upbuilding of new 
towns, such as those at Grand Falls and Bishop Ealls, 
and the housing of workmen at mining centres, as well 
as by increasing ordinary requirements everywhere over 
the country. Furthermore, the cut of logs for the pulp 
and paper mills is now quite as large every year as that 
for the whole of the lumbering operations of the colony, 
and in a few years this will be still further augmented 
as these works double their capacity and as other similar 
enterprises take root here. The lumbering industry is 
worth to the colony every year $750,000, and the pulp 
and paper industry $1,250,000, or $2,000,000 per annum, 
whereas the forest products did not realize one-tenth of 
that sum a decade ago. 

A specially gratifying feature of a trip through the 
interior or along the coast is the spectacle of the large 
quantities of lumber at the various mills or in the many 
outports, the neat and comfortable houses, stores, schools 
and churches everywhere under erection, and the 
visible evidences on all sides of how the ability to secure 
an ample and increasing supply of local lumber, excellent 
in quality and moderate in price, has reflected itself in 
the increased comfort of the people, in their homes and 
in the structures in which they do their business, while 
the development of the shipbuilding industry, extensively 
practised and utilizing local lumber also, attests the 
further possibilities in this direction, now that the 
Morris Ministry is taking steps to further encourage this 
industry at home and to retain in the colony the 
$300,000 which it is estimated, is annually spent abroad 
in purchasing ships for the local trade. 



CHAPTER XI. 
THE PULP AND PAPER INDUSTRY. 

HARMSWORTH MILLS. ALBERT REED MILLS. 

WORLD'S RECORDS BROKEN. POSSIBILITIES 

YET UNREALISED. 

IT is indicative of their reputation for doing striking 
things, that the Harms worths, the famous London 
publishers, brought into existence a pulp and paper 
industry in Newfoundland, a country previously sup- 
posed by ill-informed people to be hopeless except for 
fishery purposes, and still thought by great numbers to 
be a region absolutely covered with snow and ice and 
devoid of forest growth. The Harmsworths though, 
after searching the whole of the available territories 
elsewhere in quest of suitable pulp areas before visiting 
Newfoundland, satisfied themselves ultimately, by the 
most exhaustive inquiries, that the resources of the 
Island in this respect were such as to warrant them in 
establishing their industry here. Naturally therefore, 
this decision, when it was reached, attracted the most 
widespread attention, and the progress of the construction 
of the mills was followed with the closest attention by 
all concerned in the business of pulp and paper making, 
and in the providing of the necessary supplies of raw 
material for sucli purposes. 

In Newfoundland, when poor fisheries had occurred 
in the past, the country suffered serious setbacks, so 
that the people longed for other permanent industries 
capable of employing large numbers constantly, that 
contingents might be withdrawn from the fisheries, 



84 

and occupation afforded those who, during the winter 
months, when fishing is not possible, were condemned 
to enforced idleness. Of late years the copper and iron 
mines at home, and the coal beds and steel mills in Cape 
Breton, had opened avenues of labour for manj who 
previously lacked this means of utilizing their un- 
occupied months ; but this was not the most acceptable 
solution of the problem, because those who sought work 
abroad bad to part with much of their earnings for 
their own subsistence, and the colony lost this ; besides 
which, they often removed their families and settled 
permanently in these places, so that on every band the 
cry was for some styptic to stop the flow of this lif eblood 
of the colony ; since here, as elsewhere, those emigrat- 
ing were the flower of the population. 

Hence, the news that the Harmsworths had acquired 
a property in the Island, and would erect there paper 
mills equal to any in the world, besides awakening all 
competitor countries to a realization of Newfoundland's 
possession of other resources than those of the sea, 
likewise awakened its own people to a better apprecia- 
tion of its undeveloped possibilities. This altered aspect 
of the world abroad, respecting Newfoundland as a 
factor in the pulp and paper business, was intensified as 
^he new proposition took shape, and the plans of its 
projectors were developed. These materialized in an 
installation which, in its various aspects, challenged 
admiration, and soon stimulated another prominent 
English concern to establish itself in the vicinity ; while 
other capitalists from Britain and America are likely to 
locate here before long. 

Six years ago this July, Mr. M. M. Beeton, Presi- 
dent of the Harms worth enterprise, camped in a tent on 
the bank of the Grand Falls of the Exploits river to 
survey and decide on the site of the proposed new pulp 
and paper mills. The place was then, so to speak, a 
wilderness almost untrodden and without a solitary in- 
habitant. To-day it is the site of an enterprise that 



85 

promises to make it within a few years the second town 
in the Island in point of population and commercial 
interest. Mill buildings of concrete, covering several 
acres, have been erected there and equipped with costly 
and up-to-date machinery ; many miles of railway have 
been built, with largo terminal wharves at the sea-coast ; 
and dams, booms and boom-piers constructed in the 
river, all of which represent many working months of 
labour and thousands of tons of material, the whole 
standing for an outlay of some millions of dollars. A 
town site has been laid out with streets and locations for 
public buildings; a system of sanitation has been 
provided ; homes for the staff, hotels for the workmen, 
and residences for the chiefs of the various departments 
have been erected ; and the company last year built two 
hundred more workmen's and foremen's houses. Nearly 
one thousand men are employed there daily and the 
payments of wages, including the operations in the 
woods near Millertown, have been for the last year 
aggregating $60,000 a month, or nearly $750,000 per 
annum. 

The reason the Harms worths decided upon estab- 
lishing in Newfoundland was, that they desired to secure 
a self-contained area which they might effectively patrol 
and police ; administer as they thought best, subject, of 
course, to the general laws ; and wherein it would be 
possible for them to gain for themselves the maximum 
degree of protection against the dangers of forest tire 
and spring-time flood to which this industry is open. 
Accordingly, they selected the upper section of the 
Exploits valley, the very centre of the Island, embracing 
that river and the Red Indian Lake watershed, making 
an area in all of some 2,000 square miles, to which they 
have since added by other compacts, a further 1,100 
miles, so that they control the entire terrain above the 
Grand Falls of the Exploits on both sides of the river, 
the Red Indian Lake, and all the tributary streams and 
ponds. They are thus in absolute mastery of the 



86 

situation, and their territory is so enormous, that it will 
be possible for the forest growth to reproduce itself 
perpetually at the rate at which the cutting of pulp- 
wood will be necessary for the needs of the present 
output, and as much more as will follow from the 
doubling of its capacity. 

Having acquired this region and the amplest powers 
from the Newfoundland Legislature, consistent with due 
regard for the public rights, the Company began the in- 
stallation of its plant, which was completed towards the 
end of 1910, when it was formally opened with appro- 
priate ceremonies by Lord Northcliffe, the function being 
attended by the Governor of Newfoundland, Premier 
Morris and the members of his Cabinet; the leading 
dignitaries of Church and State in the colony, and many 
visitors from England. The mills were absolutely the 
most modern of their kind in the world, and, with a 
single exception, the largest. They represented the 
most complete varied aggregation of pulp and paper- 
making equipment that had ever been assembled, the 
very finest of the machinery and contrivances used in 
the industry being incorporated into their installation 
from every country where this manufacture had made 
any progress. 

The Grand Palls mills are made up of 11 steel 
and concrete buildings, in which all the various 
processes are carried on; a sulphur tower, 200 feet high, 
topped by a water tank with a capacity of 250,000 
gallons, a penstock or double flume, composed of two 
circular steel pipes, fifteen feet in diameter and 
2,150 feet long, stretching from the mills to the falls 
farther up the river, where the channel of this stream 
was cut off by a dam 800 feet across and 25 feet above 
the bottom of the river, there being lesser dams of an 
equal bulk constructed at one side, to direct the water 
into the forebay, whence it passed to the penstocks, and 
in time energized the machinery in the power-house, 
hewn out of the solid rock beside the bed of the stream, 



87 

120 feet below, this work occupying hundreds of men 
for several months. 

The whole installation at Grand Palls is of the most 
permanent and enduring character, and so successful has 
the venture heen thus far, that at the present time an 
extension of the works is being set on foot, which will 
double the output capacity of the mills as they are now 
developed and equipped, which is as follows : 

Ground wood mill : 360 tons (of 2,000 Ibs.) 
mechanical pulp per day. 

Sulphite mill : 60 tons sulphite pulp per day. 

Paper mill : 120 tons finished paper per day. 

By next year it is hoped to have the extension 
completed and to be turning out twice this daily product; 
and on that basis the market value of the output will be 
over $3,000,000 per year. 

The wood for the purposes of manufacture is 
obtained at present from the territory contiguous to Red 
Indian Lake, which water is used for the purposes of 
log-storage and floatage. The gangs of loggers are 
distributed around the shores of this Lake, and the 
convenient streams and ponds connecting with it ; 
the Company has its own steamers for towing the logs 
to the booms at the foot of the Lake ; thence they are 
conveyed to Grand Falls through the agency of the 
Exploits river, vast "drives" being made every 
summer, some 2-J- million pieces or logs being cut each 
winter and so transferred during the ensuing months, 
making in all about 50,000,000 ft. of timber, this 
sufficing for a season's needs ; though, of course, it will 
require to be doubled as soon as the new buildings are 
constructed. 

At Millertown, the Company possesses a lumbering 
village with some 90 dwelling houses as well as works, 
factories, buildings and machinery ; and this place is 
reached by a line of railroad owned by the Company and 
extending some 20 miles from the main line of the Reid 
system. At Grand Falls the Company possesses quite a 



town in the vicinity of the works, and has an outlet to 
the sea by means of another railroad of its own, which 
extends from Grand Falls to Bishop Palls the seat of 
the second pulp and paper enterprise and from there 
to Botwood Harbour in Exploits Arm, Notre Dame Bay, 
a total distance of 22 miles, which is the Company's 
shipping port, and where docks, piers and other 
accessories have been provided. 

In deciding to establish in this colony, the Com- 
pany resolved that it would erect a model town at Grand 
Falls ; and this is not the least commendable feature of 
the undertaking, where a decade ago the forest denizens 
roamed undisturbed. The scene has changed entirely 
now; the stream is dammed and made subservient to 
the control of man ; the rocks have been riven and 
mighty structures replace them ; the bush and woods 
have been succeeded by enormous buildings packed with 
wonderful machinery, and by shops and houses, streets 
and clearings, churches and schools, and every other 
accessory of modern civilization. A sand-filtered water 
supply has been installed, sewers and mains built, streets 
and parks laid out, electric light provided, and a hospital 
erected. An eminent English expert was brought out 
last year to plan the sanitation scheme, and the Company 
hope to make Grand Falls the most healthy town in the 
Island. 

The organs of the American paper trade stated that 
these mills in the first week of June, 1910, broke all the 
world's records in the production of " newsprint " paper, 
such as is used in daily journals. Only the previous 
October were the mills formally opened. Not until 
Christinas week, 1909, was the making of pulp begun ; 
and it was March, 1910, before the first shipment of 
paper was forwarded to England. Yet, so satisfactory 
was the colonial wood for the purpose, and so completely 
did every feature of the enterprise develop itself, that 
within three months this notable achievement was 
effected. 



89 

The example of the Harrnsworths in establishing 
themselves in Newfoundland was followed by the Albert ( 
Reed Company, a paper-making concern of Cannon ( 
Street, London, which has just completed extensive 
mills at Bishop Ealls, eight miles from Grand Palls, that 
are being operated the present summer. These mills 
are about three-fourths the original capacity of those at 
Grand Falls, and were designed at first for the produc- 
tion of ground-wood pulp alone, for which this company 
has an immense demand ; but the conditions were found 
to be so favourable, that it was soon decided to begin 
the making of paper as well ; and an enlargement of the 
plant, with this object in view, was undertaken and has 
just been completed. 

This Company's advent furnished the final proof, 
were further evidence needed, of the feasibility of 
making pulp and paper in Newfoundland on a business 
basis. It might have been argued that the Harmsworths' 
undertaking was an adjunct to their newspaper enter- 
prise and that, as they required paper as an indispensable 
auxiliary in their daily operations, they could afford to 
manufacture it under conditions impossible with a regu- 
lar paper-making concern, which would have to exist by 
furnishing wares capable of selling on their merits and 
at prices comparing favourably with others. Therefore, 
the Albert Reed Company's decision to establish in 
Newfoundland made it manifest that the region was 
regarded by English business concerns as being one 
where the inauguration of such an enterprise with 
reasonable prospects of success, was amply justified. 

The Albert Reed works at Bishop Ealls embrace 
engineering features altogether different from those to 
be seen at Grand Ealls. Instead of employing a pen- 
stock, the requisite " head " of water is secured by means 
of a forebay and flume chamber contiguous to the works 
themselves. The dam, too, is of the Ambursen or 
hollow type of construction. Its average height is 30 
feet and average width at the base 50 feet, the maximum 



90 

of the widest part being 67 feet. It is not, however, a 
solid structure, but consists of a series of almost solid 
concrete piers, set parallel with the course of the stream 
at 15 feet intervals. Steel rods connect these and serve 
as a screen oil which a thick layer of concrete is 
deposited, so that an unbroken surface is presented in 
resistance to the force of the water ; and, viewed from 
the outside, the dam seems absolutely solid, though there 
is a means of passing along in its interior as through a 
tunnel, almost from one bank of the river to the other. 

This dam raises the level of the river some 28 feet, 
and its effects are shown for five miles back along the 
course of the stream. The mills were designed by the 
same American architect who originated those at Grand 
Palls, and are constructed in the same substantial 
fashion, though the equipment is being obtained in the 
main from Norway, where the Albert Reed Company 
has many mills already in operation. 

A similar policy has also been adopted with reference 
to the construction of the town which must follow the 
operation of this plant. A town site has been laid out 
and made ready ; workmen's homes and residences Tor 
the officials have been constructed ; sewer and water 
systems have been installed ; the electric light has been 
furnished, and everything has been done to ensure the 
comfort and convenience of the operatives who will be 
employed there. 

To realize what the establishment of enterprises of 
such a character in our Island will represent to New- 
foundland, it is only necessary to take the case of the 
village of Grand Mere on the St. Lawrence. At this 
point a Paper Company established its mills, and now 
the place has a population of five thousand, of whom 
1,200 are employed in the works. It is estimated that 
the value of pulp wood as cut from the forest and ready 
for export, is from $6 to $7 per cord, while every cord of 
wood ground to pulp has a value of $20 ; made into 
fibre it has a value of $30, and converted into paper it 



91 

has a value of $40 and upwards, according to the quality 
of the product. Therefore it will be seen that it is 
greatly advantageous to this, or to any country, to 
secure the establishment within its borders of the mills 
for the making of pulp and paper ; and for that reason 
Newfoundland has cause to feel gratified that these 
enterprises are now established in its midst. 



92 



CHAPTER XII. 

ISLAND'S ADVANTAGES FOR PAPER- 
MAKING. 

WHY THIS INDUSTRY WAS INTRODUCED FACTORS 

AIDING ITS SUCCESS FIGURES or PRODUCTION 

LAST YEAR. 

CAPITALISTS and Investors will doubtless be 
interested in studying the reasons which influenced 
* ~ 

these two companies to locate in Newfoundland, and 
which are influencing- other corporations to follow their 
example. These reasons may be briefly stated as 
follows : 

1. Proximity to the British Isles. 

2. Unlimited supplies of Pulp -wood. 

3. Abundance and Cheapness of Labour. 

4. Security of Tenure in a British Colony. 
Reviewing these facts in detail, it will suffice with 

regard to the first, to point out that Newfoundland lies 
a thousand miles nearer to Great Britain than the 
sections of Canada and America where paper is manu- 
factured from wood-pulp ; that all Newfoundland's 
southern seaboard is free from ice the whole winter; 
and that it thus enjoys open navigation when the St. 
Lawrence is blocked with floes. As there is no point 
in the Island sixty miles from tidewater, the long and 
expensive rail-haul is virtually eliminated; and one 
of the largest items in the cost of American and 
Canadian pulp is avoided. 

With regard to the second factor the abundance of 
pulp- wood the following details will be of interest, as 



93 

they are given upon the authority of one of the leading 
Forestry authorities of the Dominion of Canada : 

The Newfoundland forests are chiefly composed of 
the woods preferred by paper-makers, such as spruce 
and fir, and thus contain greater proportions of pulp- 
wood timber . Some may claim that even seven cords 
to the acre which is what lumbermen figure for 
Newfoundland is an excessive estimate to make. This 
might he true as to the State of Maine, the Adirondacks 
of New York, or the Province of Quebec, which are all 
well-known as sources of pulp-wood supplies ; but in 
the places mentioned, and also in Vermont, New 
Hampshire, Wisconsin and Minnesota, that have still 
moderate stocks of spruce pulp-wood, the proportion of 
pulp-wood timber to the other timber in the forests 
is frequently less than one-tenth of the amount, 
whereas the pulp-wood timber in Newfoundland is 
often found to be nearly the entire growth of the 
woods. Surveyors have traversed many miles of pulp- 
wood land within twenty miles of Grand Palls, where 
the growth of pulp-wood was thirty cords to the 
acre, and competent timber cruisers report the finding 
of fifty cords to the acre over extensive areas. 
Indeed, one of the best informed timber cruisers on the 
Island reported that he had cruised a block of green 
pulp-wood on the Harmsworth limits, forty miles in 
extent, that he was confident would cut fifty cords of 
pulp-wood to the acre, which would make over a million 
and a quarter cords to be got from this comparatively 
small area ; and another reliable cruiser said he had cut 
over eighty cords from a single measured acre. 

The cost of timber delivered in the booms of the 
Company at Grand Palis is estimated at $3 to $3.50 per 
cord, as it is driven by the stream the whole way from 
Millertown to Grand Palls; but a better idea of its 
cheapness for these purposes may be gained from the 
fact that an American concern, possessing other timber 
land in the colony, undertook to deliver 200 cords per 



94 

day at $4 per cord, though, this figure involved freight 
charges for railroad haulage of fifty miles, and the use of 
twenty-five cars every day. United States Government 
reports give the average price per cord of spruce pulp- 
wood at all the Maine mills in 1907 at $8.34, and at the 
New York mills at $10.40 a cord; and with present 
prices in America two or three dollars higher than these, 
the figures of the delivery of pulp-wood in Newfoundland 
are illuminating. In America to-day the owner of 
pulp-wood areas has to pay taxes, dues and other 
charges on mills, logs, timber lands and lumber, but in 
Newfoundland no such imposts are levied. 

Whilst there are some sections in the Island where 
white spruce is fairly abundant, the chief product is the 
black spruce, which is seldom found either in New 
England or Eastern Canada, averaging in size larger 
than here. This black spruce is in some respects more 
valuable to the paper-maker than the white spruce, 
because a log of black spruce contains fifteen to twenty 
per cent, more fibre than a white spruce log of the same 
bulk, owing to the larger size of the wood cells of the 
white spruce. Moreover, the black spruce of New- 
foundland is a more durable wood than the white spruce 
of the continent, as proved by its use for railway ties 
by the Reid Company, since the white spruce of 
the Atlantic slope is not considered suitable for this 
purpose. The black spruce of the colony is declared 
by expert pulp-men to be the finest in the world 
for their needs ; and one feature of the colonial 
forests is the immense area covered by this spruce. 
Where the country has been burnt over, or where 
the soil is not strong enough for heavy timber, 
the lighter growth has taken its place and covers 
thousands of miles. On the basis of 5,000 miles of 
pulp-wood, a low estimate for the quantity of pulp-wood 
is 35,000,000 cords. Probably in no part of North. 
America are there such opportunities for carrying on 
the pulp and paper- making business as in Newfoundland. 



95 

Further, there is an abundance of labour obtainable 
here for pulp and paper-making as for any other in- 
dustry, and the adaptability of Newfoundlanders is 
remarkable and has been attested by all concerns em- 
ploying them, even for most varied pursuits. Living as 
they do, in isolated settlements around wide-stretching 
seaboard, and obliged by this condition to rely upon 
themselves almost wholly, they become proficient in any 
kind of handicraft, with a minimum of instruction. 
They are fishers, farmers, miners, railroaders and factory 
hands in turn, and, as each new enterprise arises, men 
are speedily and easily trained to the tasks necessary 
for its maintenance. One of the predictions when the 
Harmsworth project was launched here was, that they 
could not make paper in a country where the people 
were fishers only, who could not be induced to abandon 
that work and become mill-men, and who, if they ever 
were initiated into this industry, would never prove 
successful at it. Instead, however, it has been proved 
by the work done on the Harmsworth plant, that these 
untried and untrained Newfoundlanders became pro- 
ficient workmen in every department, and the principals 
are confident that ultimately these extensive plants, and 
any others that may be established, will be operated 
wholly by local labour. 

When this criticism was developed against the new 
enterprise, the testimony of independent and unbiased 
employers of labour all over the country was secured, 
all of whom declared that local workmen proved most 
satisfactory, adaptable and progressive, and that no- 
where could the labour problem be solved more easily, 
or more satisfactory men be found for industrial purposes. 
Moreover, strikes are wholly unknown, and the rate of 
wages is lower than anywhere else in the Western 
Hemisphere. An illustration of what Newfoundland 
workmen are capable of doing, is afforded by the residence 
for Lord Northcliffe, which was built at Grand Palls. 
This country cottage of Tudor architecture is 70 feet 



96 

long by 30 feet deep, and three storeys high, and was 
constructed in less than two months by Newfoundland 
workmen, not one of whom had ever "served his time." 
They had a most meagre outfit of tools, but the Super- 
intendent of Construction, an English architect, stated 
publicly that with these few utensils they did as good 
work as experienced English tradesmen, who had under- 
gone a regular apprenticeship. 

Another advantage of operating in Newfoundland is, 
that in a British colony with settled Government, and 
security as to title and tenure, freedom from inter- 
ference, and law and order adequately maintained, the 
industrial investor enjoys a safety which he does not 
possess in many other countries. The Newfoundland 
laws are favourable to the progress of this industry, the 
obligations which they impose being comparatively 
slight beside those which exist in Canada and the United 
States. The colony, it is true, prohibits the exports of 
unmanufactured logs, but in view of the present needs 
of the pulp and paper industry throughout the world, 
the feeling here generally is that it is well the colonial 
laws should contain this provision, as it ensures that the 
Island, as the years go by, will become the home of 
many enterprises having this industry as their basis. 

It is not possible to exactly estimate at present 
what the product of the pulp and paper mills will be 
henceforth. But the Customs returns for the past fiscal 
year, which ended on June 30th, 1910, show that the 
exports of the products of the Grand Falls mills from 
the starting thereof in January until that date amounted 
to: 

7,866 tons of paper valued at $352,155 
6,853 pulp 69,164 

$421,319 
The exports of the same products for the six 




CJ 

a 

A 




u 

to 

nS 

13 
C 



o 

I 
I 



97 

months from July 1st to December 31st, 1910, were as 

follows : 

11,120 tons of paper valued at $498,208 
14,453 pulp 144,463 



$642,671 

It would therefore appear that during the calendar 
year, 1910, the export of pulp and paper amounted to 
$1,063,990. This would not however, represent a 
normal output, because the mills at the start were not 
operated to full capacity, and the output the present 
year should be much larger. Moreover, this year the 
Albert Reed Company, at Bishop Palls, will also be 
swelling the total volume and value of this export by 
the results of its operations also. 



98 



CHAPTER XIII. 
MINERAL RESOURCES. 

THE MINING INDUSTRY COPPER ZONE AND 
OUTPUT GREAT VARIETY OF MINERAL PRODUCTS 

OBTAINED. 

NEWFOUNDLAND'S mineral wealth is varied and 
extensive; and deposits of copper and iron are now 
being worked largely and profitably. One copper deposit 
at Tilt Cove, in Notre Dame Bay, yields its owners divi- 
dends of 20 per cent, annually, and from hematite iron 
deposits at Bell Island, in Conception Bay, more than a 
million tons are taken every year, which is sold at a 
profit of a dollar a ton. Gold, silver, lead, antimony, 
talc, asbestos, coal etc., have been worked at different 
points, and there is reason to hope, that when the 
interior is better prospected the mineral output will be 
much increased. 

The physical structure of Newfoundland consists 
mainly of the most ancient geological formations, it 
being thus among the oldest countries in the world. 
Large areas within its confines are occupied by igneous 
and eruptive materials, evidencing extended volcanic 
action in the formative periods of its history. During 
the glacial epoch it was covered by a mighty ice-cap, 
and when that began to disappear it transformed the 
surface of the Island, rounding and smoothing the 



99 

hill-ranges and lesser ridges into the present contour 
^hich its topography presents. The geological strata 
resembles that of parts of England, notably the Cambrian 
deposits in Trinity Bay, which are similar to those in 
Wales, slates of the famous Carnarvon deposit being 
found there, while fossils like those of Europe appear 
in the eastern and southern bays. 

As might be expected of such a country, one of 
the most ancient geologically and subjected to such 
physical disturbance in its upbuilding, it possesses 
mineral deposits of unusual value; and ample proof 
exists that it is so endowed, because almost every known 
metallic substance has been found here; and although 
mining is yet only in its infancy and prospecting is 
confined, in the main, to the seaboard, enough has been 
ascertained to warrant the conclusion that a great future 
awaits it from a mining view-point. 

The mining of copper and pyrites has been almost 
entirely carried out along the shores of Notre Dame 
Bay. In this region are large deposits of sulphurets, 
some yielding as much as twelve per cent, of copper ; 
and since 1864, work on these has proceeded with more 
or less vigour, as the price of the metal rose and fell. 
Associated with these copper ores are large bodies of 
magnetite and iron pyrites. Quantities of the latter 
have been worked, and at Pilley's Island in the same 
region, a large lode, containing over fifty per cent, of 
sulphur, has been extensively mined and shipments 
made to the United States. 

According to the late Sir William Logan, an 
eminent geologist, who was at the head of the Canadian 
Geological Survey, the Lauzon division of the Quebec 
group is the chief metalliferous zone of North America ; 
and it is in this Lauzon division, which is developed largely 
in Newfoundland, that most of the copper mines are 
located. Respecting the probable extent of the Lauzon 
mineral-bearing series in the Island, the report of the 
Geological Survey shows that the following compose 



100 

the Serpentine and associated rocks comprising this- 
division : 

Hare and Pistolet Bays ,.. 230 sq. miles. 

North from Bonne Bay ... 240 sq. miles. 

South from Hare Bay ... 175 sq. miles. 

South from Bonne Bay ... 150 sq. miles. 

South from Bay of Islands . . . 184 sq. miles. 

Notre Dame Bay ... ... 1,400 sq. miles. 

Grand Lake and Biver ... 2,310 sq. miles. 

Bay d'Est 300 sq. miles. 



Total 4,989 sq. miles. 

The whole shores of Notre Dame Bay, including most 
of its islands, are occupied by this serpentine formation. 
On the opposite side of the Island along the west coast, 
in Bonne Bay and Bay of Islands, there are large 
developments of this series as well ; and the frequent 
uncovering of copper deposits all around Notre Dame 
Bay and the occurrence of the same on the west coast, 
indicate that valuable areas of this ore will be found in 
the interior, and profitable industries developed thereby. 

A well-known United States mining expert, Professor 
Stuart, who visited the Island a few years ago and made 
an exhaustive examination of this region, observes in the 
course of his report that : " The copper ore of Newfound- 
land is a beautiful yellow sulphuret, free from arsenic or 
any other undesirable ingredient, with a little iron, and 
containing from eight to twelve per cent of copper. 
Finer copper is nowhere to be found. The character of 
the rocks in which it occurs gives an absolute assurance 
of perpetuity in the workings." 

The Island's mineral history may be said to be only 
fifty years old. In 1857, a copper deposit was discovered 
at a small fishing village called Tilt Cove, in Notre 
Dame Bay, where in 1864, the "Union Mine" was 
opened. Prior to that some mining did take place, but 
for ten years the output seems to have been only 628- 



101 

tons. Tilt Cove has been continuously operated ever 
since and its annual output is about 50,000 tons of 
copper ore, valued at about 250,000. In 1875 another 
copper mine was opened at Bett's Cove, twelve miles 
from Tilt Cove, and in 1878 a still richer deposit was 
worked at Little Bay, in the same vicinity. The out- 
put of these mines placed Newfoundland for some 
years, sixth among the copper producing countries of 
the world. Other mines in the same bay were developed 
at later periods ; the whole of this region is copper- 
bearing, and promises yet to become one of the Island's 
chief industrial regions. 

Other sections of the country have promising 
copper areas likewise. One at York Harbour, Bay of 
Islands, is highly productive; another at Baie Verte, 
across the peninsula from Tilt Cove, and one at Goose 
Cove in Hare Bay, near Belle Isle Strait, give similar 
promise ; and many indications of copper are found all 
around the coast and on some of the outlying islands, 
notably on the Southern seaboard, which may any time 
yield ample returns for their working. 

Mr. J. P. Howley,F.G.S., Director of the Geological 
Survey, writing in March, 1909, says : " Altogether, 
the statistics of our copper mining up to date give a 
total output of 1,319,594 tons of ore, 78,015 tons regulus, 
and 5,418 tons of ingot copper, shipped from all the 
mines. The percentages of metallic copper contained 
in these ores have varied considerably, running from 3 
or 4 up to 30 per cent. I cannot obtain an average, 
but taking it at about 10 per cent., the total yield 
of metallic copper should be in the vicinity of 140,366 
tons." 

To promote the further development of the 
copper deposits and especially to test the value of 
small areas which people of limited means, within the 
colony, were endeavouring to exploit, the Legislature 
at the last session provided bounties on copper 
ore smelted, of 3^ per cent, on a sum not to exceed 



102 

$50,000 for any one person or company annually for 
twenty years. 

Among other mineral substances of which several 
large deposits are known to exist, is chromite. It has 
been found near Port-au-Port Bay, and between 1895 
and 1900, some 6,000 tons of high grade ore were mined 
and exported. Several new and extensive areas have 
since been discovered in the same locality, and others on 
the Gander and Bay D'Est B/ivers. 

Nickels, associated with copper, cloanthite, and 
nickel pyrites, have been found in the Tilt Cove copper 
ore and extracted therefrom. Antimony or stibnite 
exists at Moreton's Harbour, Notre Dame Bay, and 
several thousand tons have been exported. Ores of 
galena or lead also have been found at many places, and 
mines actively operated, one at Lamanche, Placentia 
Bay, producing nearly 30,000 tons, while other beds at 
Lawn and Argentia in the same Bay, also gave 
generous yields. Manganese occurs in extensive deposits 
on the South shore of Conception Bay. Gold has been 
found in the Tilt Cove copper ores, and in some year& 
3,000 to 5,000 ounces have been extracted from the ore 
shipped there to the refining works at Breton Ferry. 
Eree gold in quartz veins has also been found in many 
places and two deposits, at Ming's Bight, North of Cape 
St. John, and at Sopp's Arms, in White Bay, have 
been worked sufficiently to prove the existence of the 
precious metal in quantities that elsewhere have 
warranted active operations. Professor Howley declares 
his belief that " if some of the local gold-bearing areas 
were carefully and economically handled with up-to-date 
appliances for recovering all the ore, they might develop 
into paying propositions." Silver occurs frequently, 
combined with both copper and galena. Some of the 
galena ores show high percentages of silver, and 
have yielded as much as 400 ounces to the ton of 
metal. 

Among the non-metallic substances of value are 



103 

asbestos, barytes, feldspar, graphite, grindstones, 
gypsum, kaolin, lithographic stone, mica, petroleum, salt, 
slate, talc, etc., and various clays. About 6,600 tons of 
barytes have been shipped and 6,000 tons of talc. 

In 1904 petroleum wells at Parsons' Pond on the 
west coast yielded 700 barrels, but large quantities 
have been pumped from the wells since then, while in 
1908 several hundred barrels were employed at the Gas- 
works in St. John's, to enrich the gas product of the 
coal used there, and gave most favorable results. 
In 1910 the Morris Government granted special 
concessions to corporations to develop the oil-bearing 
areas, which exist chiefly on the west coast, and this 
stimulated development extensively. 

The slate obtainable in the Island and declared to be 
equal to the best Welsh slate, exists in abundance, and 
is found in large bodies on both the eastern and 
western coasts. Some of the product has been exported 
and has fetched the same prices in England as the 
finest of the domestic product. Many varieties of 
building and ornamental stones granites, porphyries, 
sandstones, freestones, limestones, marbles of various 
shades, and others exist, and last year the export of 
beach stones was begun. The coast is fringed with 
many beaches, made up of stones worn smooth by the 
ceaseless action of the waves for ages ; and as these are 
in large demand in America for use in various forms of 
manufacturing, and as they are already largely imported 
from Iceland and France, it was felt that Newfoundland 
could compete therein, and the venture was begun so 
excellently, that it is being repeated this year more 
extensively. 

Clays of all kinds pipe, brick, fire, terracotta, 
china and other similar substances likely to become of 
economic import at some time in the future, are also 
found in abundance in various parts of Newfoundland. 
Already the brick clays have been utilized to a con- 
siderable extent in the manufacturing of brick for local 



104 

consumption, these articles being produced of excellent 
quality and of a durability unsurpassed. Indeed, except 
for pressed brick, used in ornamental work, the local 
product is largely displacing the imported, and in Trinity 
Bay, where this brick-making is carried on, it forms a 
subsidiary industry of appreciable value. 



105 



CHAPTER XIV. 
IRON AND COAL. 

WONDERFUL IRON MINES AMONG THE WORLD'S 

RICHEST DEPOSITS A MILLION TONS YEARLY COAL 

BEDS AND PROSPECTS. 

THE Island's chief mineral product at present is red 
hematite iron from Bell Island in Conception Bay, 
eighteen miles from St. John's. Nowhere in the world 
is there such a deposit, and even now its possibilities are 
but very inadequately appreciated. Towards the south 
shore of Conception Bay are three islands Great Bell 
Island, Little Bell Island and Kelly's Island. The 
first is the largest six miles long by two wide with 
an area of about twelve square miles. It forms with 
the other two, the remnant of a great trough of Cambian 
rock, occupying the entire area of the Bay. 

This group of islands forms one of the most strikingly 
beautiful pictures in the region when observed on a clear 
summer day, with the unruffled surface of Conception 
Bay shining like a silver mirror and reflecting back the 
shadow of these land-masses from its gleaming surface. 
[Formerly Bell Island was one of the most promising 
agricultural sections of the colony, and even still it 
produces farm stuffs to an amazing extent ; but this 
industry has now become a secondary one by comparison 
with the great mining enterprise carried on there. 

The remainder was submerged in some pre-historic 
convulsion and extends some miles below the water, 
north from Great Bell Island, on which crops out the 
remarkable hematite deposit referred to, from which 



106 

more than a million tons of ore are taken every year. 
Altogether there are twelve bands of this ore, ranging 
in thickness from one to ten feet. The largest are so 
accessible that almost all the ore they contain is mine- 
able, for the ore easily separates from the under-lying 
and over-lying strata, has a perfect cleavage and breaks 
readily into cubical blocks of convenient size for hand- 
ling. The easy grade of the dip, not over eight degrees, 
enabled large quantities to be mined for several years by 
open-cut work, akin to quarrying along the line of the 
,. outcrop. The Nova Scotia Steel Company first began 
mining here in 1895, and four years later, retaining the 
upper bed, with contents of about 6,000,000 tons, sold 
the lower bed, of about 28,000,000 tons, to the Dominion 
Steel Company for $1,000,000. Since then both com- 
panies have vigorously operated, and each takes out fully 
500,000 tons of ore every year. The mineral is very 
cheaply mined and handled. It is won by exploding small 
charges of dynamite and is then loaded into cars carrying 
about one ton of mineral each, which an endless cable 
conveys to shipping piers about a mile distant, where 
enormous hoppers receive the material and transfer it 
to the holds of large steamers, which lie below, as 
twenty-four feet of water is obtainable at the pier head. 
It is not uncommon for 7,000 tons of this ore to be put 
on board a steamer in four or five hours, so perfect are the 
loading appliances; this year both companies are 
employing 10,000-ton ships in this trade, the first cargo 
for the season, 13,500 tons, having been taken away by 
one of them at the end of April. 

Most of the Dominion Company's ore goes to its 
smelters at Sydney, Cape Breton, while the " Scotia " 
Company sells the bulk of its output to various markets 
in Europe and America. The pig iron and steel pro- 
duced at the Sydney Works is in large demand all over 
Canada, and steel rails made therefrom have been sent 
round Cape Horn to be used in the building of the 
Grand Trunk Railroad to the Pacific Coast, while other 



107 

cargoes have been sent to India for railroad construction 
there. Latterly extensive holdings of submarine areas, 
covering the extension of the ore deposit under the Bay, 
have been acquired by various parties, and notably by 
these companies, which, during the past three years, 
have been driving out below the sea, mining the ore as 
they go, and finding it not alone maintaining its general 
character throughout, but increasing both in thickness 
and quality, as the centre of the trough is approached. 

Professor Howley has estimated that, including all 
the ore bands now known to exist on Bell Island, the 
entire deposit, submarine and above water, contains the 
enormous total of 3,635,543,360 tons, observing "the 
amount that may be recoverable will largely depend 
upon the conditions met with, the engineering skill to 
cope with any difficulties that may present themselves, 
and the adequacy of the machinery employed to keep 
the mine dry and fully ventilate it." 

As evidence of the value of this deposit, it might 
be stated that Mr. A. J. Moxham, the famous American 
iron and steel expert, who built the smelters at Sydney, 
declared in a lecture delivered at Toronto in 
February, 1901, that " at the Bell Island mines, the 
actual price of mining and putting the ore on cars is 
less than the traditional contractor's price for the 
removal of earth ; in fact the ore is capable of being 
mined as cheap as dirt, and in making steel at Sydney 
the cost of freight on the assemblage of the raw 
materials there, being coal, nothing, as the smelters 
are built over the coal beds ; limestone, fifteen cents a 
ton ; and ore, forty cents a ton or fifty-five cents in all ; 
the cost of assemblage is the lowest in the world, and 
represents a saving of $2.45 a ton over the assemblage 
cost in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania." 

An added importance is given to these Newfoundland 
iron ore deposits by the recent decision of the Canadian 
Parliament to establish a Canadian Navy and the 
purchase of nucleus ships from the British Admiralty,, 



108 

pending the construction of squadrons of warships 
on the Atlantic and Pacific seaboards by Canada herself. 
Naturally, this policy will imply the providing of dock- 
yards and a demand for steel in the form of plates, ingots 
and other pieces necessary for all this class of work. 
Moreover, it is highly probable, that as a complement 
to this policy the construction, of steel ships for the 
merchant service will be undertaken as well, which will 
likewise help to increase the demand for the products 
of the Dominion Steel Company's smelters at Sydney and 
those of the Nova Scotia Steel Company at North Sydney 
and at New Glasgow. 

Already there is talk of the locating of a ship- 
building plant at Sydney; it has been declared by 
the Canadian Ministers at Ottawa that the new fleet 
will be built in Canada ; this must be followed by the 
use of domestic material in the work, and all of these 
departures open up a vista of largely increased usefulness 
for the steel products of these smelting centres. 
Consequently, as the iron ore which they need comes 
entirely from Bell Island, this will mean a greatly 
augmented consumption of the raw material and a much 
enhanced output from the "Wabana mines. This will be 
a welcome circumstance to the colony in every way, 
and will probably tend to stimulate prospecting for other 
iron areas, the product of which might be drawn upon 
to supplement the output from those already existing. 

It is currently understood, that the British Govern- 
ment would be keenly desirous of learning of the 
discovery of other similar ore beds in this island, as the 
iron ore resources of many parts of Europe are 
diminishing of late. The supply of hematite from the 
Spanish mines near Bilbao is falling off, and the. deposits 
.at Narvak, on the north of Sweden, are, it is feared, 
likely to fall into the hands of competitors of the 
British Empire. In view of the immense importance of 
the iron and steel industries to the British Isles, and of 
how largely Britain's supremacy on the sea depends 



109 

upon her ability to produce cheap and abundant 
shipping fabrics, the significance of this fact should not 
be overlooked. Under these circumstances, it would 
look as if there was a splendid opportunity for enter- 
prising mining capitalists and prospectors to devote 
themselves to the development of the iron ore resources 
of Newfoundland. 

It by no means follows that these deposits 
at Bell Island are the only ones of the kind in 
Newfoundland. On the contrary, some other very 
promising iron prospects are known to exist, but for 
various reasons their development has not been 
energetically pursued. The remarkable feature about the 
Bell Island mines is, that their existence was discovered 
by accident rather than by design. They had lain 
unknown and unused for generations until, somewhere 
about twenty years ago, so the story runs, a fisherman 
sailing in his smack from one of the coves there to 
St. John's, ballasted his boat with lumps of reddish rock 
that cumbered the strand. When he unloaded this on the 
wharf at St. John's, an Englishman on a schooner lying 
at the next pier, saw that it seemed to be highly 
mineralized and took a portion of it across the Atlantic 
where he had it assayed and its value determined. 
The original holders of the property received $120,000 
for it from the Nova Scotia Steel Company which, in 
its turn, was paid by the Dominion Steel Company 
1,000,000 for the larger of the two beds; and each 
of these Companies is now producing 500,000 tons of 
ore annually and selling the same at a profit of a dollar 
a ton. 

COAL DEPOSITS. 

According to the Geological Survey's reports 
Newfoundland possesses extensive coal measures, but 
their full extent is not yet determined. There are three 
distinct and well-defined coal-bearing tracts one near 
Grand Lake, by the upper reaches of the Humber River; 
another inland from the south side of St. George's Bay - y 



110 

and a third in the Codroy valley, farther south and 
towards Cape Breton, They extend over an area of 
some hundreds of square miles, and are believed to he 
extensions of the vast coal beds near Sydney, Cape 
Breton and Pictou, Nova Scotia, whence an output of 
several million tons is now annually made. 

Prom Sydney most of the colony's present supply 
of coal is obtained, and as large sums are sent abroad 
annually for this commodity, the discovery of workable 
coal areas at home would mean an important industry, 
to be enhanced materially with the development of other 
mining, pulp and paper making and varied industrial 
undertakings, throughout the Island. 

The three coal regions discovered in this Island 
are conveniently situated for shipping purposes, the 
deposits in the Grand Lake region being near the line 
of railway and within forty miles of tide- water on the 
Humber River; in St. George's Bay they are only 
eight miles from the coast ; and the Codroy coal could 
be conveyed to Port-aux- Basques, which is a deep water 
haven, and loaded on steamers there the whole year 
round. Latterly the Government has expended sub- 
stantial sums in testing the extent of the coal deposits 
near Grand Lake, and during 1908 and 1909, an expert 
American driller was engaged for the same purpose. 
The true coal measures in the Humber valley are 
embraced in a long narrow trough, skirting the south 
side of Grand Lake. Borings have shewn the existence 
of at least two separate beds in this region, and thirteen 
seams have been discovered. Professor Howley says : " The 
importance of this coal-field in the future development 
of the Island cannot be over-estimated, but on account 
of the abnormally difficult conditions prevailing all over 
this region, the work of successfully prospecting it must 
necessarily prove slow. Sufficient data has certainly 
been gathered to warrant either the Government or a 
company of capitalists in entering upon the development 
of the principal seams known to exist." 



Ill 

The St. George's coal area lies eight miles inland 
from the south shore of that Bay, and almost parallel 
with the coast. Its full extent is not known, but it has 
been tested for about five miles. Three brooks which 
cut across it, enable the measures to be estimated. On 
Barachois Brook twelve separate seams shew, the 
" Murray " 3^ feet wide, and the " Jukes " 4J feet wide 
being the principal, with others of lesser width; but the 
coal in several being of first-class quality. On the 
Robinson river, two miles east, five other seams shew, 
the " Howley " being over 4 feet wide of good solid coal. 
The aggregate thickness of nine seams in this trough 
of over one foot, and including the three named, is 27 
feet, which, if they maintained this average throughout, 
would give for every mile of surface they may be found 
to underlay, 25,920,000 tons of coal. 

The Codroy Valley is of more limited extent a 
segment of a trough, cut off by a fault. The greatest 
thickness of the true coal measures does not exceed 250 
to 300 feet in all, but in this are six seams of coal, four 
small and two quite large. One at its outcrop shewed 
9^ feet of good clean coal, while the other was 23 feet 
wide, 15 feet being a fairly good coal, and the rest, layers 
of shales and clay. The Reid- Newfoundland Company 
has mined coal from all of these areas and used the 
same in its locomotives at intervals with, it is said, 
excellent results. 



112 



CHAPTER XV. 
AGRICULTURE. 

OLD-TIME HOSTILE POLICY FERTILE AREAS QUALITY 

or SOIL VARIETY OF PRODUCTS PROSPECTS OP 

LIVELIHOOD FOR THOUSANDS. 

SO long has this Island been thought a desolate, fog- 
bound region, with harsh climate and sterile soil, 
precluding- all attempts at farming, that claims respecting 
its agricultural advantages obtain little credence abroad. 
Western Canada was until recent times, believed to be only 
a wilderness of snow and ice, but now is known as one 
of the world's granaries. Similarly Newfoundland has 
farming possibilities to which the leading agricultural 
authorities of the Dominion do justice. 

The farm-lands here lie in belts, mainly in the 
valleys through which the principal rivers run, or around 
the heads of the great bays, and are capable of supporting 
a population many times as great as that which now 
occupies the Island. This statement might be considered 
overdrawn, but that the statistics show what progress 
has been made in agriculture of late, and how much 
greater it may become henceforth. The reports of the 
Geological Survey, conducted by reliable scientific men ; 
the data obtained by official surveyors mapping out the 
Crown Lands for many years ; the experience of farmers 
and stockmen and the testimony of experts who have 
visited the colony, prove that it has an agricultural 
future by no means negligible. To-day the farm 
products are worth probably half as much annually as 
those of the fisheries. 



113 

That farming is backward here will scarcely occasion 
surprise, for it was a penal oft'ence to plant a potato in 
Newfoundland when a royal college was founded in 
Nova Scotia ; self-Government was denied this colony 
until eighty years back, though granted that province 
seventy years before, and the present time is only about 
the centenary of the recognition of agriculture in this 
Island, for not until 1813 were grants of land for farm- 
ing issued. 

As recently as 1789, or 121 years ago, Governor 
Milbanke wrote that " it is not in the interest of Great 
Britain to encourage people to winter in Newfoundland." 
Not until 1811 was permission granted to erect per- 
manent houses, and two years more elapsed before 
Governor Keats was " authorized to grant leases of small 
plots of land to industrious individuals for the purposes 
of cultivation, taking care however, to observe an annual 
quit rent, either nominal or real, according to the cir- 
cumstances of each individual case." 

This tax on land was abolished in 1822 on the 
advice of Chief Justice Forbes, who reported " That it 
was desirable, in order to open up the country and afford 
employment to the inhabitants, that all restraints upon 
the cultivation of the soil should be removed, and the 
breeding of live stock be encouraged " ; and in 1825, 
Sir Thomas Cochrane, the first resident Governor, actively 
encouraged farming, for he was progressive and far- 
sighted, and believed in husbandry as a material factor 
for the well-being of the colony. He inaugurated road- 
making, encouraged agriculture, and chose a country 
seat for himself in the suburbs of St. John's. 

During the next fifteen years farming was further 
encouraged, and, with the granting of representative 
Government in 1832, more funds were provided for roads 
and bridges, the annual vote for these in 1833 being only 
three hundred pounds sterling. These roads helped 
materially to encourage people to engage in husbandry, 
and Governor Sir John Harvey, in 1812, organized an 



114 

Agricultural Society in St. John's, held ploughing 
matches and horse races, and in 1848 prizes were pro- 
vided for various forms of farming progress. 

In 1869, the first agricultural exhibition was held 

in St. John's, and others have been held at intervals since ; 

but not until the Exhibition organized by the Morris 

Government last fall was there any general display of 

products from all parts of the Island. The rich farm 

lands of the west coast were worked even before the 

railway was enterprised, and some thriving settlements 

were thus founded. The public men also encouraged 

the tillage of the soil, but not until 1878, when Sir 

William Whiteway moved resolutions " Eor a survey for 

a line of road in the Humber Valley, Gambo and Grand 

Lake districts, to open up and settle the agricultural 

land in those districts," was any Government formally 

identified with the development of agriculture. He 

took a further step in 1880 by the adoption of the 

railway policy, this being the agency that, perhaps more 

than any other, contributed to the permanent progress 

of agriculture here ; while in 1886, the administration 

of Sir Robert Bond granted bonuses for the clearing of 

land, which gave an impetus to farming all over the 

Island that it would never otherwise have received, 

because land was cleared and cultivated around every 

hamlet and has continued to be used till this day. 

In 1893, railway connecting roads were built, opening 
up the country between the villages in the various bays 
and the railway line, thus aiding in the clearing of land 
and the extension of farm- work in these localities. The 
"Winter Government, in 1898, revived the land bonus ; 
and the completion of the cross-country railway, 
piercing the arable sections of the west coast and 
enabling farm produce to be conveyed to market 
promptly, put these districts in direct touch with St. 
John's, and also shewed how self-supporting communi- 
ties could be maintained otherwise than by the fisheries. 
Much of the best farming land of the Island has been 



115 

opened up for settlement by the railway, while more 
will be made available by the branch lines now being 
contracted. These sections can sustain thousands of 
people, and mere fractions of them can supply the 
colony with most of the farm stuffs necessary for home 
consumption. 

Agriculturally, the western slope is easily the most 
important, for it has, besides large tracts of fertile soil, 
valuable forests, and coal, lime and mineral deposits, 
yielding essential constituents for the manufacture of 
pulp and paper. This is the carboniferous region, and 
the rocks of this formation always underlie good soil. 
Its climate, too, is superior to that of the eastern or 
southern shores ; as the easterly winds from the Atlantic 
are tempered before reaching there. Since this slope 
has been tapped by the railway, it has shewn clearly 
that it is destined to become the seat of a large farming 
industry, ultimately broadening into cattle and sheep 
raising, on which a successful start has already been 
made. 

The western area comprises the Codroy Valleys, St. 
George's Bay, Port-a-Port, Bay of Islands, Bonne Bay, 
and the Great Northern Peninsula to the Straits of Belle 
Isle four hundred miles in extent. The Great and 
Little Codroy rivers drain valleys which form one of 
the finest farming districts in the Island, being about 
forty miles long and ten to twelve miles wide, 
where for the most part the soil is excellent, and 
extensive husbandry is possible. The Geological Heports 
give the extent of land available for settlement in St. 
George's Bay district at 560 square miles, with soil so 
good, that the settlers have in some cases, worked the 
same ground for twenty years without the use of manure. 
In the Bay of Islands district the chief arable area is the 
Humber Valley, with 800 square miles, containing soil 
of superior character, capable of being profitably culti- 
vated. The forest wealth is also extensive and the other 
land is equal to most of that cultivated on the eastern 



116 

seaboard. The Report of the Geological Survey ob- 
serves : " Thousands of miles have been laid out into 
townships, and already settled in Canada, either for 
lumbering or farming, far inferior in most respects to 
this part of Newfoundland which without doubt, is 
capable of supporting a very large population." North 
of this is another fine inlet named Bonne Bay, shortly to 
be connected to the main railway by a branch from 
Deer Lake, and a carriage road already cut between 
these points, shews that there is much good land in the 
whole way, giving excellent crops where cultivated, and 
still larger areas suitable for grazing purposes, the whole 
being described as a section possessing arable areas not 
exceeded by any others in the Island. 

Prom the west coast to Notre Dame Bay, a level 
plain extends across the Island, with arable tracts so ex- 
cellent and extensive, that in 1898 a survey was begun to 
construct a highway through it. The surveyor's report 
shewed that thousands of people could settle there and 
make comfortable homes for themselves, as farmers and 
lumbermen. The next farming region is Exploits Bay, 
a deep inlet on the south coast of Notre Dame Bay, with 
several arms, the greatest leading to the Exploits river, 
the valley of which drains an area of 4,000 square 
miles, the stream reaching the sea after flowing 200 
miles, the width of its fertile belt varying at intervals, 
and the fertility of its soil being amply testified wherever 
cultivation has been attempted, producing roots, potatoes, 
grass and other crops of the finest description; while for 
grazing or stock-raising country it can hardly be 
surpassed. The conclusion of the Geological Survey is 
that " There are, on the Exploits alone, 512,000 acres, 
more or less capable of supporting settlement, including 
arable and pasture lands, and the pine, timber, spruce, 
tamarack and birch, which cover extensive areas, are of 
excellent quality and vigorous growth." 

The Gander valley is considered by some even better 
than the Exploits for farming. Including the neighbour- 



117 

ing Gambo and Terranova valleys, there are, says the 
Geological Survey, 1,700 square miles, or 1,088,000 
acres, available for settlement ; of which large 
proportions, notably eastward from the main river, are 
of rich and fertile soil, as amply testified by the indigenous 
produce, which mainly consists of pine and spruce of 
superior size and kind. With its facilities for grass 
growing, the breeding and rearing of stock can hardly 
fail to become one of its great future industries. 
Nowhere else in the Island is there anything like the 
quantity of pine timber to be met with here ; and 
although the soil on the western side of the Island is 
richer in some places, this section, with its other advan- 
tages, offers more immediate inducement to the settlers. 

Smaller farming tracts are too numerous to describe 
in detail. They exist along the banks of the smaller 
streams and skirt the heads of all the great bays ; and 
constitute, in the aggregate, large areas of excellent 
land. The chief of these are in the inlets of Bonavista 
Bay ; the north-east section of Trinity Bay ; St. Mary's 
Peninsula, the Salmonier inlet in that bay; and the 
Cape St. Mary's shore, or eastern seaboard of Placentia 
Bay. Moreover, though much of the Avalon peninsula 
is of poor and rocky soil, there are extensive areas yield- 
ing excellent root crops, luxuriant grass crops and 
generous fruit crops, as well as oats, barley and other 
grains. The gardens and farms which surround virtu- 
ally every settlement in the peninsula attest this ; the 
neat and comfortable homesteads proclaim the industry 
of the people ; and the proximity of St. John's gives a 
constant market, while in the environs of the capital 
itself are farms which would do no discredit to countries 
more pretentious agriculturally. 

In some quarters the assisted immigration of 
farmers from Scotland, Sweden and other countries, 
whose climatic conditions are similar to those of New- 
foundland, has been advocated ; and as recently as two 
years ago the Salvation Army took up the question of 



118 

establishing farm colonies in the Island; but pending the 
fruition of these projects it looks as if the greatest 
assurance of success in this industry would be through 
encouraging the resident population to engage more 
largely in the cultivation of the soil. The attractive 
inducements held out by Western Canada and the 
United States to farming and other immigrants, are so 
much greater than any this colony could offer, and the 
reputation of those regions as farming centres naturally 
so enhances their attractiveness to the intending settler, 
that Newfoundland would be very seriously handicapped 
in any attempt to divert immigration from them to its 
own interior. Nevertheless, it is recognised, and the 
experience of those who have come from the British 
Isles and undertaken farming in the Colony, has proved 
that it is possible for farmers to make a very profitable 
livelihood here, particularly as the colonial tariff 
provides a generous measure of protection for the local 
husbandman. 

Dr. Andrew MacPhail, who was invited here last 
year to advise the Government as to potato- culture, 
observed in a public address at the time, that : 

" If I were embarking in farming as a business, it is 
not to Prince Edward Island I would go, though I own 
a farm there ; nor to Quebec, where I own another farm ; 
nor to Saskatchewan, where I own a third ; I would not 
be attracted by the much-boasted opportunities of the 
Canadian North-west, but I would come right here to 
St. John's where, under the benelicent influence of a 40 
per cent, tariff, I would make a comfortable living at the 
expense of the rest of the community. The soil and 
climate in your country are as good as that of many 
parts of Canada, and some of the results I have seen in 
my visits to some suburban farms yesterday and to-day 
are really remarkable." 



119 



CHAPTER XVI. 
NEW FARMING POLICY. 

PREMIER MORRIS ADVOCATES FARMING AGRICULTURAL 
EXPERTS VISIT COLONY DIRECTIONS IN WHICH PRO- 
GRESS is POSSIBLE. 

SIR EDWARD MORRIS, the present Premier, has 
always advocated the development of husbandry 
here, maintaining that large sums might be retained at 
home by the cultivation of farm products which are 
to-day imported, and instancing the advance made in this 
industry alone, even within the past thirty years, as 
shown by the census returns of 1891 and 1901, and the 
probable further development which the census of the 
present year will disclose. The agricultural summary 
in the census was : 

1801. 1901. 

Acres Occupied Land 179,494 215,563 

Acres Improved Land 64,494 85,520 

Acres Pasturage Land 20,524 85,210 

Acres Garden Land 21,813 85,867 

Acres Improved Unused Land ... 6,244 14,443 

Wheat and Barley (bushels) ... 491 824 

Oats (bushels) 12,900 10,773 

Hay (tons) 36,032 53,867 

Potatoes (barrels) 481,024 541,590 

Turnips (barrels) 60,235 65,527 

Other Root Crops (barrels) ... 5,041 3,560 

Cabbage (barrels 50 heads) ... 81,370 258,680 

Horses ... 6,1 SS 8,851 

Milch Cows 10,863 14,160 

Other Horned Cattle 12,959 18,599 



120 



Sheep 

Swine 
Goats 

Fowl 

Cattle (killed) ... 
Sheep (killed) ... 
Swine (killed) 
Butter made (pounds) 
Wool (pounds) 



60,840 

32,011 

8,715 

127,420 

7,718 

20,216 

17,653 

401,716 

154,021 



78,031 

34,676 

17,307 

206,969 

7,415 

23,590 

17,656 

673,974 

199,377 



The value of the farm products in each year was 





1891. 


$ 


1901. 


$ 


Wheat and Barley 


at $ 1.00 bushel 


491 


at $ 1.00 bushel... 


824 


Oats 


at 50 cents 


.. 6,450 


at 50 cents ... 


5 ; 387 


Hay 


at $12.00 ton 


.. 432,384 


at 15.00 ton 


809,465 


Potatoes ... 


at 1.00 barrel 


.. 481,024 


at 1.44 barrel ... 


779,889 


Turnips ... 


at 1.00 




.. 60,235 


at 1.20 ... 


78,632 


Other Eoot Crops 


at 1.00 




.. 5,041 


at 1.00 ... 


3,560 


Cabbage 


at 3.50 




.. 284,795 


at 4.00 ... 


1,024,720 


Cattle (killed) ... 


at 30.00 hea 


I 


.. 231,390 


at 35.00 head ... 


259,525 


Sheep (killed) ... 


at 3.60 




.. 72,777 


at 4.00 ... 


94,360 


Swine (killed) ... 


at 10.00 




.. 176,530 


at 15.00 


264,804 


Butter made 


at 20 cents Ib. . 


.. 80,343 


at 22 cents Ib. ... 


161,754 


Wool 


at 20 


.. 30,804 


at 25 


49,844 



$1,862,264 



$3,532,764 



The figures shew that the occupied land increased 
by 20 per cent, during the decade ; the improved land 
hy over 40 per cent. ; and the pasture and garden land 
hy 50 per cent. each. Hay shewed a similar increase ; 
potatoes and turnips each increased 12 per cent. ; 
cabhages trebled in quantity; horses, milch cows and 
cattle each increased nearly 50 per cent., sheep 33 per 
cent., swine 16 per cent., goats over 100 per cent., fowls 
70 per cent. The cattle, sheep and swine killed during 
that year shewed 10 per cent, increase, butter 60 per 
cent, and wool 25 per cent. Ten years previously the 
animals imported horses, cattle, swine and sheep- 
were valued at $130,000, but in 1901 the value of these 
imports declined to $97,000. The latest Customs 
returns shew, that while the total of the animals 



121 

imported in 1910 was only the same as in 1901, the 
value was $187,000, or nearly doubled, an enhancement 
that has applied to the local product as well, so that the 
raising of cattle, sheep and swine for food purposes is 
receiving unusual attention. 

As already shewn, the value of agricultural pro- 
ducts in 1901, amounted to $3,532,000 ; but in addition 
to this, there are imported each year animals and farm 
products of the following kinds, and about the value 
(for the fiscal year 1908-09) following, all of which 
might be raised at home : 

$ 

Beans 17,690 

Cabbage 9,758 

Peas 36,635 

Potatoes 35,083 

Vegetables 20,464 

Apples 43,829 

Animals 178,099 

Butter and Oleo 106,770 

Cheese 40,074 

Eggs 11,198 

Hay 37,747 

Jams 6,764 

Lard 5,084 

Oatmeal 24,182 

Oats 97,607 

Oilcake, etc. 92,267 

Fresh meats, sausages and poultry ... 55,591 



$818,842 



Accordingly, when Premier Morris was firmly estab- 
lished in office, he took up the subject of agricultural 
development on progressive lines and invited to the 
colony Dr. James W. Robertson, C.M.G., the famous 
Canadian agriculturist, who revitalized that industry in 
Prince Edward Island, who was Canadian Commissioner 
of Agriculture for many years, subsequently principal of 



122 

the MacDonald Agricultural College near Montreal, and 
is now President of the Canadian Royal Commission 
on Industrial Training and Technical Education. Dr. 
Robertson came to Newfoundland in September, 1910, 
to advise the Government as to the best policy to pursue, 
and after studying the farming features of the west 
coast, the interior and the vicinity of St. John's, he out- 
lined his views, declaring himself confident that there was 
a great future before the Island agriculturally, that the 
land at present cleared was ample to produce twice the 
quantity of farm stuffs annually raised therefrom, and 
indicating the lines along which farming progress might 
be best directed. 

In September also Dr. Andrew MacPhail, a well- 
known physician of Montreal and a bacteriologist of 
repute in Canada, visited the colony at the Premier's 
invitation, to study the question of improving the 
cultivation of potatoes, to which subject he has given 
great attention for some years, and on which he is a 
recognised authority. During his stay he inspected a 
number of farms near St. John's, and stated that these 
farms and the potatoes produced therefrom, compared 
favorably with Prince Edward Island, besides which his 
opinion was, that without any additional labour or cost, 
but by the mere utilization of more modern methods, it 
would be possible to greatly increase the yield from 
these areas. 

The previous year Mr. Beach Thomas, agricultural 
expert of the London Times, who visited the Harms- 
worth mills, in an address delivered at St. John's, on the 
Premier's invitation, observed : "I have visited every 
centre of agriculture and gardening in England, many 
in France, and several in Holland and Belgium ; so my 
experience in these countries may enable me to tell you 
something of your interior. On the farm at Grand 
Ealls are meadows where grass and clover flourish as 
luxuriantly as in England. In England we do not real- 
Jersey cows, as they are too tender, but at Grand Ealls 



123 

are Jerseys doing exceedingly well. The potato and 
turnip crops are at least as good as could be found 
on any ordinary farm in England. I am certain, 
that if you could plant down these Grand Palls farms 
there, many market gardeners would pay two or three 
pounds an acre for them, because of the quality of the 
soil. At Grand Palis grow different flowers, all of which 
may be seen in England, such as helianthus, bergamot, 
sweet peas and mignonette. The cauliflowers in the 
gardens could not be beaten. I cut heads of corn as fine 
as could be ; and saw turnips, potatoes and cabbage 
equal to any raised in England." 

Professor C. A. Zavitz, of the Ontario Agricultural 
College, who came here in 1908, to report upon the 
farming possibilities, stated as follows : " Newfoundland 
has greater agricultural possibilities than I expected to 
find. Many crops can be grown with excellent success, 
and would do better if replaced by other varieties more 
suitable to the conditions of soil and climate. Other 
crops which would do well in this climate are practically 
unknown here. Surprisingly large quantities of farm 
products are imported from other countries, though 
many of them could be raised in abundance on the 
Island. I would not favor the extensive growing of 
wheat, but I do believe that vegetables of many kinds, 
oats, barley, potatoes, mangels, turnips, small fruits and 
certain other crops could be grown in abundance to the 
advantage of both the producer and the consumer, 
providing proper methods of agriculture were adopted." 

Encouraged by these gratifying opinions and the 
equally conclusive evidence afforded by the statistics of 
local farm products, the Morris Government decided upon 
the promotion of agriculture by the formation of some 
70 agricultural societies all round the Island, each being 
allotted a certain amount in cash to be expended as in its 
judgment seemed best ; the providing of animals, seeds 
and implements, and their utilisation and distribution 
by the societies ; the dissemination of agricultural 



124 

knowledge by means of newspapers, bulletins and 
pamphlets ; the preparation of text books on agriculture 
for the schools; the application of cold storage to 
farming products ; the conversion of the peat deposits 
into fuel, and a demonstration, by an agricultural 
exhibition in St. John's, of the present status of the 
industry and what intelligent and earnest effort might 
accomplish. Very gratifying success has attended the 
movement thus far. Seed potatoes of approved quality 
have been obtained through the agency of the Canadian 
Department of Agriculture, and distributed all over the 
Island by the societies ; cabbage and turnip seeds of 
approved qualities have been similarly handled ; Scotch 
oats of suitable kinds have also been distributed ; cows, 
sheep, pigs and Sable Island ponies have been procured 
(the latter a free gift from the Government of Canada) 
and placed where they would be of the most benefit ; 
and vigorous advocacy of agricultural effort has been 
inaugurated by the Premier and energised by an 
Agricultural Board appointed for the purpose of carrying 
this policy into full effect. The agricultural exhibition, 
held at St. John's in the first week of November, 1910, 
completely surprised even the most enthusiastic advo- 
cates of farming in the colony. Over 3,000 exhibits 
were on view ; every district was represented, and some 
of the remoter ones proved most successful, even in 
competition with the professional farmers of St. John's 
and of the west coast. Two officials of the Canadian 
Department of Agriculture Messrs. Standish and 
Moore were obtained from the experimental farm at 
Truro, Nova Scotia, and their opinions, seeing that they 
had a unique opportunity to observe the quality of our 
animal and vegetable products, should be of interest. 

Mr. Standish said : " I was more than surprised that 
Newfoundland could produce such excellent exhibits as 
are on view. Not for some time have I seen such 
cabbage, turnips and potatoes. There is no doubt that 
Newfoundland is rich in soil suitable for the growth of 



125 

these crops. The hay exhibit was equal to any I have 
seen in some of the Provinces of Canada ; and the show 
in general was superior and hetter arranged than I have 
ever before witnessed in this class." 

Mr. Moore said : " I w r as greatly surprised and 
delighted with the results. I have been present at 
eight county and provincial exhibitions, and the condi- 
tions here compare very favorably ; in fact, Newfound- 
land is not behind any of them. The root crops 
especially were equal, if not superior, to those exhibited 
in these places, and yet they can still be improved here, 
this being notably true of potatoes. I think the poultry 
exhibit superior to any I have seen in any country show 
in Canada. The dairy stock exhibit shows that a good 
start has been made in the selection of pure bred 
Holsteins, Ayrshires, Jerseys, etc., and also in the other 
live stock exhibited.'' 

Pour experienced peat cutters were obtained from 
Ireland and were employed during the summer of 1910, 
going from place to place through the island, instruct- 
ing the people in the cutting, drying and handling of 
peat to serve as fuel. Their advent was warmly 
welcomed, and the use of peat for this purpose is likely 
to become very general. A poultry association was 
organized in St. John's ; a project was launched for 
the despatch of 30 teachers annually for five years to 
Canadian Agricultural Colleges to receive a year's 
course each in agricultural subjects; and competent 
farming instructors will organize farming institutes and 
otherwise develop intelligent effort among the farming 
community. Measures were enacted at the recent 
session of the Legislature for an inspection of seeds and 
the further extension of this agricultural policy. Sheep 
raising is being specially encouraged, that the fleeces 
may be used in a wool factory, proposed for the making 
of all the woollens and similar products required in the 
Island, and of which some $350,000 worth are imported 
annually. The developing of the fruit industry, the 






126 

making of local berries into jams, preserves and jellies ; 
the exterminating of clogs in order that sheep and cattle 
may be introduced into settlements where such is 
impossible at present ; and other kindred matters are 
embraced within this movement. 

A lesson in comparative values is afforded by the 
figures of the Island's farming industry. The cabbage 
crop is twice the value of the seal fishery. The annual 
product of hay is nearly equal to the mineral output. 
The potato crop almost approaches in money's worth 
the* lobster, herring and salmon fisheries ; and if the 
food-stuffs now imported annually, but which can be 
raised at home, were grown here, they would almost 
equal the output of the pulp and paper mills. Then, 
the flour and salt meat imports can be much reduced. 
Newfoundland's per capita consumption of flour is the 
greatest in the world to-day, being twice that of Canada, 
the people making flour the chief item in their some- 
what limited dietary, though they should be raising 
their own food stuffs and substituting local vegetables 
and meats for flour and pork imported from abroad. 
Thus even if the colony could not all at once raise all 
of the local products for this purpose, it could gradually 
reduce the imports ; so it is clear that the possibilities 
of agricultural development along new lines are very 
great, and that active work in these directions can 
accomplish much. Indeed, it has been estimated that 
to raise within the colony all the farm-stuffs that it is 
possible to consume, six agricultural townships of one 
thousand families each could be formed, the inhabitants 
of which would be assured of as constant and profitable 
employment as those at any of the industrial centres 
now existing. 



127 



CHAPTER XVII. 
THE COD AND INSHORE FISHERIES. 

VALUE OF FISHERIES NUMBER ENGAGED THEREIN- 
ENORMOUS CATCH OF COD LESSER FISHERIES 
DESCRIBED. 

TVTEWFOUNDLAND'S fisheries form her great staple 
AN industry, the chief occupation of her people for 
centuries and the bulwark of her prosperity. Other 
industries have developed in recent years, hut do not as 
yet compare with the fisheries, for these contribute about 
80 per cent, of the total exports, and the following table 
from the Customs returns for the fiscal year 1909-10, 
shews the value of the principal fishery products 
exported in that period : 

Codfish (dried) $7,307,778 

Codfish (otherwise) 38,158 

Herring 302,355 

Salmon 69,850 

Lobsters 337,835 

Other Fish 60,599 

Cod Oil 379,013 

Seal Oil 459,814 

SealSkins 460,220 

Whale Oil 147,340 

In passing, it might be noted that the value of the 
fisheries of the United States in 1909-10 was $64,000,000 
and that of the fisheries of Canada about $30,000,000. 

The principal fish taken in the Island's waters are 
cod, herring, salmon and lobsters, seals being hunted 
among the ice off the north-east coast and in the 



128 

St. Lawrence Gulf, while whaling in its modern form, 
was begun some thirteen years ago, and has been 
pursued with varying success since. The census of 
1901 shews that of the total population of 220,984, no 
fewer than 62,674 were engaged in catching and curing 
fish; 41,231 males and 21,443 females, against 54,775 
in 1891, and 45,419 in 1894; that the fishery stock 
comprised 24,342 boats or small skiffs, 1,350 smacks, 
1,424 larger crafts, and 204 schooners ; and these used 
34,915 nets and seines and 4,055 cod traps. In the seal 
fishery of 1911, occupying the latter half of March and 
the whole of April, there were 19 steam vessels crewed 
by 4,000 men. These of course, engage in other 
fisheries later in the year. 

The cod fisheries of Newfoundland are very much 
larger than those of any other country. The average 
annual export of cod is about 1,500,000 quintals, whereas 
Canada exports not more than 700,000 quintals and 
Norway not more than 800,000. The total annual 
catch of cod in North American waters (including those 
taken on the Banks) by French, American, Canadian 
and Newfoundland fishermen, is estimated at nearly 
4,000,000 quintals, and allowing 50 fish to a quintal, this 
means 200,000,000 taken every year. Yet so prolific is 
the fishery that it has withstood this enormous drain for 
centuries. Indeed, the catch in Newfoundland in 1908 
was by far the largest ever obtained, the export totalling 
1,732,387 quintals, nearly twenty per cent, more than 
any previous year's. 

Until 1890, the fisheries were conducted without 
any efficient administration, but a Fisheries Commission 
was then organized, and the services of an able scientist 
as Superintendent of Fisheries were secured. The 
artificial propagation of cod and lobsters was begun, and 
modern methods were adopted. In 1898, a regular 
Department of Marine and Fisheries was created, with 
an official head in the legislature, being also invested 
with the control of marine works, lighthouses, shipping, 




Photo.] 



A load of Codfish. 



[Hollway. 




Photo.'] 



Removing the fat from a Seal Pelt. 



[HoHctroy. 



129 

etc. An Advisory Fisheries Board was associated with 
the Minister, and gradually the powers of the Depart- 
ment were enlarged, the sphere of its usefulness 
increased, and the scope of its ordinances made more 
comprehensive. 

The principal branch of the cod industry is what is 
known as the " shore " fishery, that prosecuted directly 
from the coast of the Island by the thousands of sea- 
farers settled in its countless coves and creeks. Here 
for 400 years fishermen have been reaping the harvest 
of the ocean floor. The waters are well-stocked with 
fishes ; every river and estuary forms a haunt for the 
lordly salmon ; on the beaches of golden sand the silvery 
caplin, somewhat larger than a sardine, appear hi 
myriads, and in the deep waters beyond are still greater 
draughts of fish to be made. Every harbour has its 
fishing village, the lime- washed houses perched among 
the cliffs like match boxes on a wall, and the fishing 
places lining the strand. 

The life of the fisherman in one of these coves, 
daily buffeting the billows, exposed to the storms which 
frequently sweep the coast, is not an enviable one. Yet 
among them one finds the noblest characteristics. 
Kindness and hospitality are their cardinal virtues. 
Simple in their habits, they are fearless and hardy, 
facing appalling danger as unconcernedly as their daily 
work, and enduring hardships that would seem almost 
too great for human strength. They are strapping, 
stalwart fellows, who will make admirable material to 
supplement the crews of British warships in time of 
need, the Naval Reserve having been extended to the 
Colony some years ago. They build their own fishing 
vessels, rig and sail them, and are unexcelled navigators. 

The Labrador fishery involves the annual migration 
of 15,000 people men, women and children, from 
their homes in Newfoundland to the seaboard of that 
vast peninsula, which is the theatre of one of the 
world's greatest fisheries. This migration employs 



130 

about 1,200 schooners, into which are crowded fisher- 
folk, their live-stock and household belongings. They 
make their temporary abode in the many harbours along 
Labrador, where they have houses and fishing stations, 
or "rooms" as they are termed. Here they remain 
for the months of July, August and September; 
the men trapping codfish in the offing and the women 
salting and drying it ashore. A branch of the Deep 
Sea Mission was established on Labrador some twenty 
years ago by Dr. Grenfell, the medical missionary, who 
has through his self-sacrificing labours there, become a 
historic personage. Now the Mission has two hospitals 
and a hospital ship on Labrador, with doctors, nurses and 
launches attached to each, and treats about three thousand 
patients each season. In the Autumn the Newfound- 
landers rejoin their vessels and journey homeward again. 
During 1910 there were 12,050 persons engaged in the 
Labrador fishery, a decrease of 2,938 as compared with 
1909, and 1,126 schooners employed, besides which some 
750 permanent residents of Labrador were also engaged 
in the industry. 

The "bank" fishery is somewhat like the North 
Sea fishery of the Mother Country. It is pursued by 
staunch vessels which cruise on the Grand Banks 
between May and October, running home at intervals 
to land their catch and renew their stores. The Grand 
Banks stretch past the East coast of Newfoundland, 
from Labrador to the Gulf Stream, being 1,200 miles 
long by 300 wide. They are favorite haunts of the cod, 
haddock, halibut and mackerel, and formerly were the 
resort of fishermen from all Western Europe, though in 
these modern days the fishing is confined to Newfound- 
landers, Canadians, Americans and Frenchmen. Trawls 
are chiefly employed. These are unlike the ones used in 
the North Sea, which are really great bag-nets. The 
Grand Banks trawls are warps 2,000 feet long, with 
hooks attached to smaller lines every yard, and the 
whole then sunk to the bottom and moored by small 



131 

anchors at either end. The vessels, termed "bankers," 
carry twelve to twenty men, and flat-bottomed boats, 
known as " dories," each two men. In fishing, the 
vessels anchor and the dories, going some distance off, 
submerge the trawls, the hooks baited with herring, 
caplin or squid, smaller fishes on which the cod and its 
kin greedily feed. The trawls are allowed to lie over- 
night, cleared of their catch next day by the men, and 
the hooks rebaited. Skill and daring are required to 
overhaul and bait these lines in all weathers, and the 
" bankmen " are all crewed by picked fishermen. 

The export of dried cod the past ten years has been 
as follows : 

Year ending Quintals Vair. 

June 30th. (1121bs.) 

1901 ... 1,233,107 ... $5,171,910 

1902 ... 1,288,955 ... 5,509,728 

1903 ... 1,429,274 ... 5,633,072 

1904 ... 1,360,373 ... 5,943,063 

1905 ... 1,196,814 ... 6,108,618 

1906 ... 1,481,025 ... 7,864,719 

1907 ... 1,422,445 ... 7,873,172 

1908 ... 1,509,269 ... 7,820,092 

1909 ... 1,732,387 ... 7,398,536 

1910 ... 1,502,269 ... 7,307,778 

This fish is chiefly exported to Southern Europe, 
Brazil and West Indies. The livers of the cod yield 
the oil so extensively used for medicinal purposes, and 
they are converted when fresh into this commodity, 
which finds its market in Great Britain, Canada and 
United States ; while enormously large quantities of 
livers which become rancid, yield an oil that is in large 
demand for tanning leather. 

LOBSTER FISHERY. 

The returns of the lobster fishery for 1910 shew a 
total of 24,602 cases, and it is estimated that 5,900,049 
lobsters were caught, 18,170 traps being employed for 
the purpose, while licenses to pack were issued to 2,081 



132 

persons, a decrease of 269, and 4,487 men were 
engaged, a decrease of 1,451, in this industry during 
the year. The large decrease in the number employed 
is probably due to the falling off in the fishery during 
the seasons which preceded 1910, whereby these men 
engaged in more remunerative employment. The 
pack shows an increase of 2,276 cases over the 
product for 1909, and there was improvement likewise 
in the quality of the pack, the lobsters being larger, 
a fact ascribed to the strict enforcement of 
the regulations against taking small lobsters. The 
prices paid in the local market for the article varied 
from $13 to 17 per case of 48 one-pound tins. The 
value ot" the lobsters exported for the fiscal year 1908-9 
was $343,619, while for 1909-10 the figures were 
$337,835. An attempt was made last year to save and 
manufacture the shells, claws and bodies of the lobsters ; 
and in view of the enormous number taken every year, 
and of two-thirds of the bulk not being convertible into 
food products, a promising industry ought to be possible 
in this direction. 

The lobster fishery in Newfoundland is compara- 
tively of recent origin, the packing or tinning of these 
crustaceans for export having begun in 1874. On the 
neighbouring continent, of course, the industry has been 
enormously developed ; first, through the marketing of 
boiled lobsters in the shell and when fresh ; and more 
recently, through the increase in the facilities for 
marketing by the shipment of live lobsters packed in 
ice, from the place where they are caught to the neigh- 
bouring cities, where there is a big demand for them. 
In Newfoundland, however, all the lobsters are canned, 
and, naturally, the returns from an equal product 
are not as great as in these competing countries. 
Still, the lobster fishery has become an important 
subsidiary industry, valued at about $350,000 annually. 
Conditions have entirely changed in regard to it 
during the forty years that it had been prosecuted. 



133 

In the earlier years the catch was very great and the 
price comparatively small. But the lobsters reproduce 
slowly, and the decline in the available supply has been 
very marked all over the world, so that to-day the 
quantity taken is little more than one-third of what 
it was twenty years ago, and the price has in- 
creased in the same ratio as the supply has declined. 
In New England and Maritime Canada, where the 
lobster industry is of substantial importance, there have 
been agitations latterly for enactments to help ensure 
the perpetuation of the industry, and lobster hatcheries 
have been established by both the American and 
Canadian Governments to assist in this object. New- 
foundland ventured into lobster hatching some years 
ago, but did not pursue it, the belief being that the 
results did not warrant the outlay; the experiment 
has never been renewed, although the neighbouring 
countries, with the best scientific knowledge that money 
can produce and the experience of the world render 
available, still persist in this policy. 

The figures of the lobster exports for the past ten 
years are as follows : 

Year ending Quantity in Case of 

June 30th. 48 one pound tins. Value. 

1901 ... 36,271 ... $448,501 

1902 ... 38,369 ... 412,256 

1903 ... 31,881 ... 387,466 

1904 ... 31,575 ... 410,405 

1905 ... 43,522 ... 512,062 

1906 ... 31,328 ... 376,490 

1907 ... 26,661 ... 379,237 

1908 ... 26,060 ... 418,605 

1909 ... 25,826 ... 343,619 

1910 ... 26,058 337,835 

THE HERRING FISHERY. 

The herring fishery is now chiefly prosecuted 
during the autumn and early winter at Bay of Islands 
and Bonne Bay on the west coast, and, because of 



134 

American participation therein, formed one of the main 
issues of the Hague Arbitration. Eor many years past 
the resident fisherfolk actually caught the fish and the 
visiting Americans bought the daily fares thus secured, 
Canadian and local traders competing with them in this 
traffic, 

The herrings are salted early in the season, before 
the weather becomes cold enough to freeze them ; after 
which, this method is mainly adopted, the fish being 
exposed over-night on scaffolds and usually congealed 
by morning. The salted herrings are chiefly used for 
food, and some of the frozen ones also, the remainder 
serving as bait for the catching of cod and other fishes 
on the Grand Banks. The herring fishery was, until 
some few years ago, also extensively prosecuted in the 
Southern bays between January and April, but latterly 
the herring have resorted more to the west coast and 
virtually the whole of the fishery is centred there. 

The exports of herring for the past ten years have 
been as follows : 



1901 ... 112,274 ... $231,501 

1902 ... 156,970 ... 361,324 

1903 ... 192,759 ... 457,384 

1904 ... 151,865 ... 328,630 

1905 ... 176,633 ... 379,938 

1906 ... 146,032 ... 344,205 

1907 ... 153,809 ... 406,409 

1908 ... 152,504 ... 413,817 

1909 ... 100,891 ... 237,026 

1910 ... 139,228 ... 302,355 

THE SALMON FISHERY. 

The chief output of the commercial salmon fishery 
is in the form of pickled salmon, the fish being so 
treated to preserve them, but since the trains have 
traversed the west coast, and there is regular steamer 
traffic with Canada, opportunity has been afforded of 



135 

sending salmon forward preserved in ice and moss. 
Formerly the salmon fishery in the estuaries, which was 
in those days altogether for pickling, was much larger 
than of late, because the continual netting of the fish 
resulted in their depletion. In recent years, through 
the enforcement of judicious regulations, wherehy the 
salmon are enabled to enter the inlets to spawn, the 
fishery is reviving and salmon are reported much more 
numerous latterly than for some time past. 

Salmon fishing as a pastime, is of course distinct 
altogether from this, but the effect of these laws is to 
increase the chances of this sport, the largest salmon 
ever taken in the Island, of which there is record, having 
been secured last year by an American angler in the 
Codroy section, which tipped the scale at 41 pounds. 

The export of salmon for the past ten years has 
been as follows : 

Year Fresh Pickled 

ended salmon. Value. salmon. Value. 

June 30th. Ibs. Tcs. 

1901 91,103 $ 6,710 6,647 $139,101 

1902 134,766 10,267 5,838 87,446 

1903 167,208 11,463 2,885 53,214 

1904 129,475 8,768 3,118 65,400 

1905 192,054 14,383 3,604 72,083 

1906 251,156 17,931 4,924 88,005 

1907 164,302 12,260 4,716 73,660 

1908 154,670 11,721 2,384 41,354 

1909 139,085 10,618 1,774 34,345 

1910 161,931 13,005 3,074 56,845 

The export of various other fishes halibut, haddock, 
ling, hake, caplin, trout, smelts, etc., makes up a total of 
$66,000 annually, but the promotion of a much more 
vigorous prosecution of these fisheries is now being 
considered, and is expected to result in a very much 
increased output of these within the next few years. 

An estimate of the value of the bait fishes used in 
Newfoundland for a year is $1,577,936, while the total 
value of the export of fishery products of all branches 



136 

for 1910 was $9,578,984, as compared with $9,346,246 
for 1908-9, to which should he added $1,500,000 for 
home consumption, making a total of $11,078,984. Of 
these figures the cod represents in round numbers seven- 
ninths of the total export value of the fisheries ; but to 
this there might in a very few years be added at least 
$250,000 annually, if the lesser fisheries were more 
extensively developed. 



137 



CHAPTER XVIII. 
THE SEAL AND WHALE FISHERIES. 

SEAL HERDS AND THEIR CHARACTERISTICS 

GROWTH OF SEAL HUNT MODERN WHALING 

AND ITS COMMERCIAL EEATURES. 

BECAUSE the fur seal of Behring Sea has become a 
diplomatic issue the past twenty years, few are 
aware of the importance of his congener, the hair 
seal or ice-riding pinniped of the North Atlantic, whose 
habitat is the coast of Newfoundland and Labrador. 
Here, every Spring occurs a seal fishery which, in the 
size and value of the catch, far exceeds that of Behring 
Sea; for during the six weeks it lasts, some 300,000 
seals are killed, worth nearly one million dollars, and 
there is little diminution of the herds, despite centuries 
of this slaughter. 

The Pacific seal is noted for his fur, which is con- 
verted into one of the most fashionable of ladies' garments. 
He haunts rocky islets, and here the young are born. 
The seals are stalked on the beaches by the hunters, 
and also pursued when swimming, being speared or shot ; 
this being the " pelagic " sealing which has provoked 
such friction between the nations interested in the 
preservation of the herds. 

The Atlantic seal is covered with hair, and valued 
chiefly for his skin and fat, the former being converted 
into leather and the latter into oil. The " pups " are 
bred on the ice floes which every winter skirt the 



138 

Labrador seaboard, and the seal ships seek the quarry 
there and kill them by thousands, until the floes break 
up, when they hunt them in boats with rifles, as in the 
Pacific. 

The earliest settlers captured seals in nets fixed 
along the coast, and converted the skins to various uses. 
Later, men went from the shore across the ice to hunt 
them ; and in time boats were used to chase them among 
the floes. Gradually stouter crafts were employed for 
this purpose ; until about one hundred years ago scores of 
vessels were fitted out each season for the seal hunt, this 
armada reaching its zenith in 1830, when it numbered 
600 sail. In 1863, steam was introduced into the 
business; powerful wooden ships were built and engined, 
whose superior strength and propulsive force sounded 
the knell of the old-time " wind jammers " ; so that 
to-day the industry is confined to steam alone, being 
carried on by about twenty specially built steamers, the 
older ones constructed of oak and sheathed with iron to 
withstand the rasping of the jagged ice -masses through 
which they cruise, and the newer ones of steel, specially 
strengthened, like the modern ice breakers in use in 
Russia, Canada and the Great Lakes. 

While many details of the natural history of the 
hair seal are at best merely conjectural, the story of his 
birth, habits and migration is among the most fascinat- 
ing in zoological records. The seal, like the whale and 
the walrus, formerly abounded in the shoal waters near 
the Grand Banks, but now has been forced further north, 
though he has withstood extermination better than his 
larger kindred. It is supposed that during the summer 
he frequents the Greenland Ocean, feeding on the fish 
life there, and that as it becomes ice-clad, he moves south. 
Early in February he leaves the open water and mounts 
the ice-floes of Labrador, where the progeny are 
deposited, which at birth are covered with creamy fur, 
pallid as the snow-clad waste on which they lie, and are 
known to the sealmen as " whitecoats." These are the 



139 

chief prize of the hunt, their fat yielding the finest oil, 
and their skins the softest leather. 

These hair seals are of two species " harps " and 
"hoods." The latter, which are larger, fierce and 
solitary, obtain their name from a cowl-like appendage 
behind their necks. The "harps " are gregarious and 
more peaceful, and are so termed from a lyre-shaped 
mark 011 the back. The mother seal when she goes off 
at daylight to seek food in the waters below the ice- 
fields, will inevitably nurture her own off -spring at sun- 
down ; and when sealman have changed about some 
" whitecoats " to puzzle the creatures, the maternal 
instinct has sufficed to send each mother to her own 
"pups." 

The young seals grow rapidly. At birth they weigh 
about five pounds, but within a month are about fifty, 
at which weight they are fit to kill, their coat of fat 
being three to four inches thick, though their only 
sustenance is their mother's milk during all that period. 
They are in their prime by the middle of March, and 
when that month opens, the sealmen gather at St. John's 
to join their ships. These sail on March 13th, and the men 
will walk fifty or sixty miles, through snow-drifts and 
biting frosts, with kits on their backs, to secure " a berth 
to the ice," as the local parlance puts it. Each ship is 
filled with coal when leaving, which is thrown over- 
board if she gets among the herds and has a chance to 
fill up (coal being worth about $4 a ton, and seal 80), 
but is consumed in cruising among the floes for scattered 
batches of pinnipeds, if she is unlucky at the outset. 
An ample stock of food is also put on board, for occa- 
sionally a ship is "jammed " in some remote bay by the 
ice and held fast for weeks, so that this contingency 
must be provided against. 

The ice with the main herd of seals is usually 
found two or three days after leaving port, and the 
hunters scatter over it in every direction, killing as they 
go, often travelling eight or ten miles from th^e ships, 



140 

and as the men are divided into squads or watches, each 
under a master, they heap the pelts on " pans " or flat 
sections of ice, topping the pile with the ship's flag, so 
that she may pick them up as she steams slowly along 
in the wake of her men. Sometimes a herd will show 
a total of 200,000 seals within the range of a field-glass 
from the crow's nest at a sealer's masthead, and several 
steamers will load from it, in eight or ten days. 

The south side of St. John's harbour is occupied 
chiefly by large warehouses, fitted up expressly for 
refining the oil and cleaning the skins. The sealers 
land their cargoes there, and expert skinners then 
separate the fat from the hides. The former is steamed 
into oil, purified and refined, and shipped to Europe and 
America, being used as a substitute for medicinal cod- 
liver oil, as a constituent in high-class soaps, and as an 
illumiiiant in light-houses. The skins are cleaned of the 
adhering fat, grime and hair, pickled, and then shipped 
to England, Germany and America, where they are 
tanned and converted into " kid " and " patent " leather 
for boots and like articles, while the past few years they 
have come into great demand for the making of bicycle 
saddles and kit-bags. During the past year, a local 
tannery has been built for the manufacturing of them 
into leather. The refuse is converted into guano, and the 
profits of the business are such, that for ten months of 
the year the " sealeries " are idle and the wooden ships 
lying up, except when they are chartered for Arctic 
voyages. 

The industry is safeguarded by restrictive legislation, 
no ships being allowed to sail on the seal hunt before 
March 10th, so that immature seals may not be killed, 
or to continue at it after April 30th, as in shooting the 
pinnipeds not more than one is secured out of every 
three shot. Only one trip a year is permitted, and 
sealing on Sundays is penalised by a fine of $4,000 for 
every breach of this regulation. The hunt is ended 
early in May, and the men, who at most make only about 



141 

$80 each, are released to engage in the cod, salmon, her- 
ring and lobster fisheries, which occupy them during the 
summer months. The sealing fleet is owned by the 
great fishery firms of St. John's, and the business is 
conducted on the principle that they stand all risks, 
taking two-thirds of the catch in return, the remaining 
portion being divided among the men. 

The value of the exports of seal-skins and seal-oil 
the past nine years has been as follows : 

Year ended 

June 30th. Seal-skins. Seal-oil. Total. 

1901 ... $420,869 ... 379,445 ... $800,314 

1902 ... 325,137 ... 453,684 ... 778,821 

1903 ... 258,987 ... 303,067 ... 562,054 

1904 ... 370,261 ... 374,974 ... 745,235 

1905 ... 314,048 ... 297,430 ... 611,478 

1906 ... 144,300 ... 447,967 ... 592,267 

1907 ... 140,137 ... 308,997 ... 449,134 

1908 ... 433,620 ... 252,262 ... 685,882 

1909 ... 460,220 ... 459,814 ... 920,034 

THE WHALE FISHERY. 

In 1898, the modern method of whale fishing was 
introduced into Newfoundland from Norway, where it 
has been practised for more than thirty years. It proved 
so successful in Terranovan waters, that participation in 
it became a real " craze," and within a few years 
no fewer than 18 concerns were thus engaged, with the 
inevitable result, that, as the whales from their enormous 
size are necessarily limited in numbers, the killing of 
these at the rate of 1,000 a year depleted the herds and 
obliged several companies to abandon the industry, 
though these that survive are conducting it more 
economically and judiciously, and are paying reasonable 
dividends, with every prospect that on the present scale 
of operations, it will prove a remunerative enterprise for 
many years. 

Modern wlialing, as practised in Newfoundland, 
represents the chase of the rorqual or racer whale, the 



142 

fleetest of all the cetacean tribe, and one which could not 
be pursued until modern times because of its alertness 
and speed. This species of whale consists of three 
classes : " blue backs," " fin backs " and " hump backs." 
These are to be seen in scores on the Grand Banks daily 
gambolling amid the fishing schooners and indifferent to 
their presence. In capturing them, the crude old time 
method of employing sailing ships or row boats has been 
abandoned, and small but speedy steamers of about 100 
tons burden are employed to chase them. These ships 
make about twelve knots, and are armed for the business 
with small mortar-like guns fastened to the bows and 
throwing explosive-headed harpoons, fired by time-fuses, 
and bursting usually in the interior of the fish, killing it 
almost at once. These steamers operate from stations 
or factories along the coast, kill their prey within a 
day's run, and tow their catch back to the factory, where 
the whole of the gigantic carcass is cut up and every 
morsel put to commercial use. 

Some idea of the nature of this business in its hey- 
day may be gained from the fact that one ship killed no 
fewer than six whales in a single day ; a week's kill for 
another was twenty-thiee ; and a third secured a total 
of two hundred and fifty-eight for a year ; whereas, on 
the other hand, one station operated for two seasons 
without the ship killing a whale at all; and another 
station's record for a season was four. 

In old-time whaling, when the lubberly boats sailed 
the remoter seas for months and days, the custom was 
to strip the outer coat or blubber from the giant body, 
" try out " or render the oil from this in an imperfect 
manner through the agency of boilers or " try- works " 
built on a brick foundation on deck, and allow the 
" crang " or remainder of the body to drift away and 
become a prey to the sharks, so that no more than 
one-third of the bulk of the whale was put to use. 
But in modern whaling, with a factory available, the 
blubber is first rid of all its oil ; then the meat and the 



143 

refuse of the blubber, as well as the bony skeleton of 
the creature, are made into fertilizer ; the blood and 
juices are converted into glue; and the "baleen," or 
whalebone of commerce, the peculiar substance which 
fringes the mouth of the cetacean and does duty instead 
of teeth, is saved and cleaned, and fetches a ready market 
in Europe and America for employment in various 
manufactures. 

The value of the whale products exported is now 
about $200,000 a year. 



144 



CHAPTER XIX. 
THE FRENCH SHORE QUESTION. 

FISHERY TREATIES FRENCH CLAIMS DISPUTES 
BETWEEN NATIONS WHY FRANCE WITHDREW. 

A LTHOUGH the dispute known as "The French 
-** Shore Question," was terminated in 1904 by the 
Anglo-Gallic entente, which chiefly referred to Morocco, 
a statement of the conditions under which France 
retained a footing on the coast of Newfoundland for 
two centuries is appended. 

The Treaty of Utrecht (1713) allowed the French 
to catch and dry fish on the west and north-east coasts 
of Newfoundland, to erect stages of hoards and huts 
necessary for drying fish; and to resort to the coast 
only during the fishing season. They were not to 
winter there, erect permanent buildings, or fortify any 
places; and they admitted British sovereignty over the 
island. 

The Treaty of Paris (1763) ceded to France the 
islands of St. Pierre and Miquelon as a shelter for 
French fishermen, but not to be fortified, and to have 
only a guard of fifty men for police purposes. 

The Treaty of Versailles (1783) confirmed France 
in the occupancy of St. Pierre, but changed the 
boundaries of the French shore, previously Cape Bona- 
vista and Cape Eiche, to Cape John and Cape Ray, 
prescribing however, that the fishery should be carried 
on as already provided by the Treaty of Utrecht. 

Declarations were attached to the Treaty by the 




w 

ml 

m\m\ 

w 




PJ.oto.] 



The Humber River. 



B 



145 

two Honarchs with respect to this treaty coast. The 
King of England agreed, in order to prevent quarrels, 
to restrain his subjects from interfering by their com- 
petition with the French, and from incommoding them 
in the cutting of wood necessary for their fishery 
purposes ; while the French King undertook that his 
subjects should not deviate from the settled plan of the 
fishery, building only their scaffolds, repairing only 
their fishing vessels, and not wintering there. 

The French, however, afterwards read into these 
Treaties provisions which could not be found in them and 
which their phraseology did not warrant. These may 
be stated as follows : 

(1) That the French right to fish on the Treaty 
Shore was exclusive, not concurrent ; 

(2) That all permanent British structures there 

(like French) were illegal ; 

(3) That " fish " included all marine animals, even 
crustaceans ; 

(4) That Frenchmen could take salmon even in the 
rivers above salt water ; 

(5) That their " drying " privileges gave them the 

strand for half a mile above tide -water ; 
(G) That they could force British subjects out of 
fishing locations they desired for themselves ; 

(7) That they were entitled under the Treaties to 
set up and work lobster factories there ; 

(8) That they had a prior right to take bait fishes 

there for their fleet on the Grand Banks ; 

(9) That they could prevent mining or other 

pursuits there as contrary to the treaties. 
To the enforcement of these claims they set all 
their energies ; utilizing the machinery of British law 
and the agency of British warships until the colonists 
were made almost helots on their own shores. The 
naval officers had orders to avoid offending the French 
fishers, although these grossly magnified the extent and 
value of their Treaty rights. Their concession to catch 



K 



146 

and dry was manifestly concurrent, not exclusive as the 
context proves. Likewise " fish " meant cod, for that 
was the only fishery there when the treaties were made. 
Riparian fishing would not come under that head ; 
removal of permanent British structures and offensive 
overtures against colonists would he impugning British 
sovereignty ; control of the strand was a usurpation 
merely ; canning of lobsters was unknown till recent 
years ; lobster factories were permanent buildings ; and 
to hamper mining and other industries had no shadow 
of justification in the treaties. 

Yet the Newfoundlanders were " pin-pricked " in 
every way. On the Treaty Shore the French would 
not allow mines to be opened, though the region is rich 
in minerals. Other forms of industrial endeavour were 
similarly " throttled." In 1899 two wharves were torn 
down by British bluejackets because French fisher- 
men objected to them, though in one instance the nearest 
French station was twenty miles distant. The famous 
refusal of the French Government in 1874, to permit the 
trans-insular railroad to have a terminus on the shore is 
recorded in the blue-books ; this action postponed the pro- 
ject for twenty years, and woefully retarded the develop- 
ment of the western seaboard. The expulsion of colonists 
from prolific fishing grounds at the instance of French- 
men who wished to fish there, was an annual occurrence, 
British warships being required to undertake this 
distasteful task at their bidding. The fishing gear of 
the colonists was wantonly destroyed by French rivals, 
without redress. Legal enactments exempted British 
officers from liability for losses caused to the coastf oik 
in preventing them from fishing, ejecting them from 
their trawl-berths, or otherwise harassing them. Indeed, 
no grant of land issued by the Colonial Government, was 
deemed to be effective on that coast, unless it contained 
the proviso that it was subject to the Treaty rights of 
France. 

It was the lobster industry, though, which provoked 



147 

the greatest bitterness ; being grafted on the main issue 
some thirty years ago. Prior to that the crustaceans 
were a nuisance to the cod-catchers, entering the nets 
and gorging themselves on the fish therein. Lobsters 
were valueless there until the process of canning them 
was devised. In 1883 this was begun by settlers 011 the 
Treaty Shore, where shellfish abound. The French cod- 
fishers, whose industry was failing, sought to do the 
same. But so little shadow of right had they, that their 
own Commodore ordered the removal of the first French 
cannery set up, as contrary to the treaties, because it 
had an iron roof. That was in 1885, but the next year 
the opposite policy was adopted and Frenchmen were 
aided to establish more canneries, until by 1899 they had 
15, as against 49 colonial ones. By this time the 
Colonial Government was vigorously protesting against 
these French factories, as having no status, contending 
that the treaties dealt with cod-fishing alone, as proved 
by their wording, which described the " drying " of fish 
on " stages of boards," and the erection only of tem- 
porary buildings " usual and necessary for the purpose 
and to be occupied only during the fishing season." 
That a lobster may be a fish is an open question, but 
lobsters are not " dried " on stages, nor is a cannery a 
temporary wooden erection ; for it is iron-roofed, with 
boiler and furnace set in brick and mortar ; while the 
catching and curing of cod, and the trapping and 
canning of lobsters, are as different as any two in- 
dustries could well be. 

Instead of supporting the colonial contention and 
insisting on the removal of the French canneries, the 
Imperial Government weakly proposed to arbitrate this 
lobster issue. Had the arbitration embraced the whole 
" French Shore Question " there could be no cause for 
complaint ; but to select this isolated offshoot was a 
humiliating backdown. Nor was this the worst. A 
modus vivendi was arranged between the two Powers, 
whereby the factories of each which were then in 



148 

existence were recognized as legal, and no others 
were permitted to be erected, save by mutual agreement 
of the two commodores, a French one to be offset by a 
British, and vice versa. This was signed on March 13th, 
1890, and the first intimation the colony the party 
most concerned and likely to be the greatest sufferer 
had of its provisions was through the Press despatches. 
Naturally, there was widespread indignation, and 
meetings, to protest against what was termed "an 
infamous contract," were held all over the Island, for 
it violated the pledge of Secretary Labouchere in a 
despatch to Governor Darling in 1857, termed the 
"Magna Carta of Newfoundland," which read: "You 
are authorised to give such assurances as you may think 
proper, that the consent of the Community of New- 
foundland is regarded by Her Majesty's Government 
as the essential preliminary to a modification of her 
territorial or maritime rights." 

When Sir James Ferguson, who framed the modus 
vivendi, was assailed in Parliament for his violation of 
this pledge, he pleaded in excuse that the " modus " was 
merely temporary and for one year only. Yet it was 
continued for fourteen years until France gave up the 
coast. At first naval officers were supposedly empowered 
by some ancient law to enforce this makeshift, but suits 
taken against Commodore Sir Baldwin Walker for closing 
one cannery revealed the contrary, and the British 
Government was cast in $5,000 damages. Imperial 
legislation was then introduced to give naval officers 
such power, and the colony, to prevent the passage of 
this permanent " Coercion " Bill, had to enact temporary 
local measures to the same effect, renewable from year 
to year up to 1904. 

A Royal Commission was sent out by Mr. Chamber- 
lain in 1899 to enquire into the whole matter ; and its 
report, which was pigeon-holed in the Colonial Office, 
included affidavits of hundreds of settlers who had 
suffered in person or property from French aggression 



149 

and this iniquitous arrangement. The report, indeed, 
disclosed such an amazing state of affairs on British soil, 
that its issue would have provoked a crisis greater even 
than followed the Eashoda affair, and hence it has never 
been published. 

The spirit in which the Erench acted towards the 
settlers is shown by the orders which M. de Ereycinet, 
while Premier and Foreign Minister, in 1895, gave" to the 
Commanders of the Erench warships on this station, viz. : 
u To seize and confiscate all instruments of fishing belong- 
ing to foreigners (British subjects) resident or otherwise, 
who shall fish on that part of the coast which is reserved 
for our use." This was equivalent to asserting 
territorial sovereignty, and represents accurately the 
average Erenchrnan's view of the matter then. 

It might fairly be supposed that Erance had 
substantial interests where such far-reaching claims 
were advanced on her behalf, but really she sent only 
402 fishermen to that whole seaboard in 1903. In 1898, 
on a coastline where nearly 20,000 Newfoundlanders 
were settled in 215 harbours, there were but 16 Erench 
stations and 458 men on the 800-mile shore ; in 1903 
only 13 stations and 402 men. But within those five 
years the Erench grip on the territory had become far 
less effective than those figures would imply. In 
1898, all were employed by fishing concerns, in regular 
locations on the shore. In 1903, however, 97 were boat 
fishermen. The cod-fishery failed there meanwhile, so 
several Erench operators left the coast, and the 
St. Pierre traders promoted a law " for the re-occupation 
of the Erench shore," providing an annual bounty of 
4,000 francs for distribution among such Pierrois boat 
fishers as would locate on that coast every summer. 
The regular crews came in their own vessels, operated 
from well-known harbours, and occupied regular stations 
ashore. The " boat fishers," though, were brought along 
each spring with their skiffs and gear, by steamer, 
occupied huts on the foreland, and fished in twos and 



150 

threes, being picked up again with their catch by the 
steamer in the fall. 

The codfishery, which was the subject of the original 
treaty, had by this time dwindled almost to nothing, even 
with a bounty equalling two-thirds of the value of the 
fish itself. Twenty years previously, the annual cod 
catch there was tenfold that of 1903, and the retention 
of any stations by the French then, would be 
impossible except for the lobster industry, which in value 
more than doubled that of the codfishery. Prance had, 
however, for some years been preparing to withdraw, as 
was shewn by the letters of Admiral Reveillere, Lieu- 
tenant Loir (Marc Laiidry) and M. Biotteau, one of the 
Deputies for Brittany, the province most largely interested 
in the fisheries in these waters. 

Admiral Beveillere, in the Paris "Matin" in 1900, 
declared: "We have there (on the Treaty Shore) 
unquestionable rights, but our presence there produces 
perpetual danger of conflicts which have been avoided 
only by the extreme goodwill of the two Governments. 
It will certainly be a benefit to both nations if we 
exchange our rights for some equivalent. I positively 
affirm and am sure that I shall not be contradicted by 
any officers cognizant of the Newfoundland station, that 
the French shore has no kind of interest for the navy." 

Lieut. Loir observed that : "If it is true, as Bismarck 
said, that no portion of the soil of Africa is worth the 
bones of a Pomeranian Grenadier, so I hasten to add 
that the French shore is not worth the blood of a 
French sailor. We should be well advised in accepting 
compensation for this stretch of coast, and it might even 
be prudent to take steps to arrange at once for this com- 
pensation and exchange." 

Deputy Biotteau proclaimed that : " The Bait ques- 
tion is the most important of all. We do not use the 
French shore any more. But the supply of bait we now 
find on the banks will be exhausted eventually, and if 
we have not the right to take other bait in the- New- 
foundland bays, our industry will disappear. Abandon- 



151 

ment of the French shore may, if necessary, be admitted ; 
but we must have compensation in the right to take or 
buy bait in Fortune Bay or Placentia Bay." 

Those three utterances shewed that France wished 
to use the cession of the Treaty shore to exact from 
Newfoundland the right to take bait on her south coast 
for French fishing vessels on the Grand Banks. This 
the colony could not do, unless the French abandoned 
their bounties, for it was those which had enabled them 
to undersell Newfoundland in the European markets, 
until the colony enacted her famous Bait Law, prohibiting 
the supplying of bait from her waters to French fisher- 
men, which measure crippled them completely. France 
wasted four million francs every year in bolstering up 
these Newfoundland fisheries. This sum, if properly 
applied, would provide her with 4,000 excellent recruits 
for her navy, yet it was wrung from the provincial 
peasantry, and transferred to the pockets of the Breton 
fish-merchants, who were the chief beneficiaries by it. 

France, in 1904, finding Newfoundland adamant in 
the refusal to relax the Bait Law, and realizing that if 
she herself persisted in retaining her hold on the treaty 
shore for another five years, its valuelessness would have 
been so completely disclosed that not one of her fisher- 
men would venture there at all, and that she would 
then be obliged for very shame's sake, to abandon it 
without any compensation, made the best of a bad 
situation when the Moroccan accord was being negotiated, 
and agreed to withdraw entirely from the Newfoundland 
seaboard in return for concessions in Africa and 
compensation for those of her fishermen who were dis- 
possessed ; which compensation was subsequently fixed 
by arbitration at 55,000, a sum the British Treasury 
paid, recouping itself, at any rate to a trifling extent, 
by selling these properties later to Newfoundlanders who 
were willing to purchase them. 

Thus ended the "French Shore Question." That 
of St. Pierre still remains ; and a description of the 
little French Colony will be found in the next chapter. 



152 



CHAPTER XX. 
ST. PIERRE. 

A BIT OP OLD ERANCE HISTORY OF ST. PIERRE 

IMPORTANCE OF ITS COD FISHERY THE EFFECT OF 

THE BAIT ACT ITS UNPROMISING^ EUTURE. 

OE the once vast empire ruled by Erance on this 
continent, the Miquelon Isles alone remain. They 
consist of Miquelon, Laiiglade, and St. Pierre, the latter 
being the seat of government, and practically serving to 
identify the entire group. The archipelago has a total 
area of 81 square miles, and a population of 4,500, 
nine-tenths of whom live on St. Pierre islet. This is only 
seven miles long by about two broad, its selection as the 
capital being due to its having the only anchorage in 
the group, formed by the Isle-aux-Chieris, a smaller 
mass of rock, where the fishing vessels can ride in 
shelter, larger craft having to anchor in the roadstead 
outside. The isles lie twelve miles off the Burin Penin- 
sula, on the south coast of Newfoundland, and constitute 
a most tempting objective for the tourist. It is a bit of 
old Erance which the visitor is confronted with, set 
down in the midst of the sea, with a horizon of Anglo- 
Saxonism surrounding it. 

The coves in the rock-ribbed face of Miquelon 
shelter a hundred or two of hardy fishermen and as 
many farmers till the sterile soil of Langlade. The 
centre of interest is St. Pierre, The town fronts on 
the roadstead, extending gradually backward to the 
ridge of the hill which forms the backbone of the islet. 
The houses are of the type we know as Erench, with 



153 

hinged windows from floor to ceiling, opening on to little 
flower plots contrived by infinite labour and unceasing 
attention. The houses are all of wood, those in the 
main street being faced with brick or stucco, while the 
poorer ones are clapboarded. This wood has all to be 
imported, as the isles are untimbered, even the firewood 
beins: brought across in schooner loads from the nei^h- 

* J O O 

bouring Newfoundland shore. 

St. Pierre lives and thrives upon the great cod 
fisheries of the Newfoundland banks, which yield a 
generous annual harvest to Americans, Canadians, New- 
foundlanders and Frenchmen alike. It is the head- 
quarters of the Gallic fisherfolk, and for generations has 
occupied a position in French history analogous to that 
which St. John's has held in English eyes in regard to 
this important industry. When the West countrymen 
selected St. John's for their fishing base, the Bretons 
chose St. Pierre. It was finally annexed to France in 
1660, and fortified in 1700. Two years later the British 
overran it, but later Prance sought and obtained its 
restoration as a shelter port for her fishermen, the 
existing English population being deported. In 1778, 
during the American War of Independence, England 
recaptured it, and retaliated by shipping to France all 
those then living on it. Five years later the Treaty of 
Versailles restored it to France, but in 1793 England 
again asserted her mastery. She held it until 1815, 
when it once more passed into French possession by the 
Treaty of Paris, and has since remained under her un- 
disputed control. 

Its history since that time has been uneventful. 
It gradually grew in population and importance as the 
fishery was more extensively prosecuted, and despite the 
setbacks occasioned by destructive fires in 1865, 1867 
and 1879, in which the wooden structures largely 
contributed to its demolition, it continued to hold its 
place as the most thriving of French colonies until 
25 years ago. Then the enactment of the Newfoundland 



154 

Bait Act struck a severe blow at its trade supremacy. 
St. Pierre never recovered from the dislocation of trade 
created by this statute and is not likely to recover ever 
again. Its prosperity has been waning, and the 
smuggling traffic of which it had long been the centre, 
and from which it reaped a rich profit, has been very 
largely stamped out by the Canadian and Newfoundland 
Governments. 

Still, during the summer months- while the fishery 
is in progress, St. Pierre is a busy, bustling place, its 
population swollen by thousands of fishermen who cross 
from the mother-land to prosecute this industry, and its 
business augmented by the needs of this host of sun- 
tanned voyageurs. Every Pierrais who is fit for work, 
goes off the banks in a fishing schooner in quest of cod. 
The Pierrais armateurs (outfitting or supplying mer- 
chants) maintain such large fleets for this purpose that 
the able-bodied population of the isles is inadequate to 
crew them, and men are brought across from Brittany 
to undertake this duty. Besides these, there are also the 
ships fitted out from "Metropolitan" ports St. Malo, 
Dieppe, Grenville and other fishing centres which sail 
to the banks direct, and, as their catch of cod accumulates, 
run into St. Pierre with it for disposal to the local dealers, 
or to have it cured and exported. All these, except the 
actual residents of the group, return to Prance each 
autumn when the fishing is over, their vessels being- 
moored together in the inner harbour, heavily anchored 
and bound in a mass with chain and tackle, to defy the 
midwinter gales which wreak their fury on the unpro- 
tected archipelago, and frequently work havoc amongst 
their forest of shipping, in spite of all the precautions 
taken to guard against the cyclonic force of the snow- 
laden gales. 

This inner harbour is protected by a breakwater of 
stone, with substantial stone wharves. The Government 
pier fronts on the public square, the sides of which are 
formed by the official buildings, court houses, barracks, 




155 

ministry of marine, custom house and the Governor's 
mansion. The people are, to all appearances, comfortable 
and contented. The streets are clean and the houses trim 
and neat ; the curing of fish is not permitted within 
the municipal limits, the operations incident thereto 
being carried out on the beaches which encircle the 
islet. The street scenes are extremely picturesque. The 
tricolour floats everywhere ; the men wear gaudy shirts 
and loose blue trousers ; the women are gay in spotless 
linen caps, bright blouses and short dark skirts; the 
children are clad in bright colours, and evidence their 
nationality in every movement, while wooden sabots or 
canvas shoes with rope soles, are the footwear of all 
except the "aristocracy." Heavy waggons lumber 

ugh the streets in the wake of mild-eyed oxen, and 
little " go-carts " drawn by dogs are the vehicles of the 
poorer classes. Horses are not numerous, for the islet 
being not three miles across there is but little need for 
them, and they symbolize affluence rather than industrial 
activity. The town is policed by fifty gendarmes armed 
with swords, and some ancient cannon, placed at points 
overlooking the harbour, enable salutes to be fired on 
the fete day of the Republic or when a French or British 
warship enters port. The town is sent to sleep nightly 
by a drummer, who makes his rounds at ten o'clock, when 
the twenty-three cafes which it boasts must close, and 
all stragglers betake themselves to their homes. Every 
morning a crier makes his way up to the square with 
flourishes upon his bugle, and announces such news, 
including auctions and shipping items, as may interest 
his hearers. 

The isle is encircled by beaches of round stones, 
worn smooth by the action of the waves for countless 
ages. On these the fish are spread to be cured, and a 
strange picture is made acre on acre of stones with 
that remarkable covering. As the cod are brought in 
from the banks they are landed at points adiaceiit to 
these beaches, and taken in hand by the owners. The 



156 

lish are thrown into crates submerged in the land-wash, 
and are stirred around by men with long poles until 
they are thoroughly cleansed, when they are spread on 
the beaches, exposed to the full, strong sunlight, with a 
current of dry air circulating beneath. When the rain 
or fog threatens, the fish have to be taken up and stacked 
under tarpaulins until the weather clears again, for the 
best cured cod are absolutely devoid of moisture and are 
as hard as leather. Much of the codfish in France 
comes from St. Pierre, and the industry is maintained 
by an elaborate system of bounties covering every 
phase of the business, and every implement used in it. 
The fishery is held by the Erench to be a nursery for 
seamen for their navy, and even the " beach-boys " 
lads too young for the Banks, but able to handle the 
fish on the beaches with the women, by whom most of 
this branch of the work is done are provided for in 
this scheme of government paternalism. 

St. Pierre was the " nerve-centre " of the u Erench 
Shore Question ." Through these bounties alone,, were the 
Pierrais enabled to maintain a footing on the Treaty Coast 
of Newfoundland. Through the Erench ownership of the 
group alone, was Erance crippling Newfoundland's fish 
trade in "Europe. However, even with the bounties 
the Pierrais could not conduct the fishery profitably on 
the "Erench Shore," and each summer saw the lessening 
of their number and equipment, until, by the Anglo- 
Gallic entente of 1904, France surrendered her claims to 
the western seaboard of Newfoundland. To-day the 
activities of Erench fishermen in this region are confined 
entirely to trawling on the Grand Banks, and even at 
this they are growing fewer each year, because successful 
and profitable trawling requires an ample supply of bait, 
and this they cannot procure, since the Newfoundland 
supply is denied to them, so that the Erench authorities 
are now faced with the problem of how long it will 
prove possible to retain St. Pierre at all. 

St. Pierre enjoyed for many years an unenviable 



157 

reputation as a smuggling centre, whence a large 
contraband trade was carried on with the neighbouring 
centres. American fishing vessels smuggled opium, 
costly drugs and high-grade brandies to Boston, New 
York and Philadelphia ; the Maine coast was flooded 
with cheaper spirits in contravention of the prohibital 
law in force there ; the Province of Quebec was reached 
from the St. Lawrence, and absorbed immense quantities 
of " corn- spirit" and "tangle-foot" whiskey ; and the south 
coast of Newfoundland was one vast depot of tobacco, 
liquors and fishermen's requisites. St. Pierre being 
practically a free port, with revenue laws so elastic that 
they were utterly disregarded, this became perhaps, an 
even more profitable business than the fishery, and 
the per capita total of the imports to the islets abundantly 
testified to the extent and organization of this illicit 
traffic. The smuggling has now been largely stamped 
out, through vigorous concerted action on the part of 
the Governments victimized ; and the shrinkage of the 
imports to St. Pierre the last few years would be incom- 
prehensible to the student of political economy unaware 
of the underlying circumstances. 

It is believed that before many years, Erance will be 
prepared to surrender the Miquelon archipelago to 
Britain in return for some compensating advantages 
elsewhere, and either abandon these fisheries entirely 
or prosecute them under such altered conditions as will 
enable more amicable relations to be maintained with 
the Newfoundlanders. 



158 



CHAPTER XXI. 
THE NORTH ATLANTIC FISHERIES DISPUTE. 

FISHERY RIGHTS OF AMERICANS RECIPROCITY AND 
FISHERY TREATIES NEWFOUNDLAND'S UNCOMPLETED 
CONVENTIONS THE HAGUE ARBITRATION AND AWARD. 

THE adjudication by the Hague Tribunal last 
September of the Atlantic Fisheries Dispute, 
removed the last permanent source of friction between 
Great Britain and the United States. In these modern 
days we little know and less regard the seriousness of 
fishery imbroglios in the troublous times that preceded 
the American revolution, when the colonists, from the 
St. Lawrence to the Delaware, possessed little more than 
the fringe of the continent and fishing was one of their 
chief pursuits ; nor can we easily credit that Lord North 
seriously proposed, in the British Parliament, as one of 
the methods of curbing these rebel colonists, that they 
should be prevented from fishing on the Grand Banks. 
In those times, as subjects of the British Crown, the 
inhabitants of these colonies participated equally with 
those of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward 
Island, Magdalen Islands, Newfoundland and Labrador, 
in the fisheries of the north Atlantic waters ; and so 
important was this fishery, that in 1775 more than 1,200 
American fishing vessels annually operated in this 
region. 

In 1783, after the war, when the Treaty of 
Versailles was negotiated, the Americans held out for 
the same rights as previously, but compromised on the 
right to take fish in the deep seas, and the liberty to 



159 

take (but not to dry or cure) fish of every kind on some 
parts of the coast of Newfoundland and the neighbouring 
provinces. 

On this basis the fisheries were prosecuted until 
the war of 1812 abrogated that Treaty ; and clashes 
occurred frequently thereafter, and a new Treaty was 
concluded in 1818, intended to eliminate all causes of 
further friction by granting them fishing rights on part 
of the seaboard. 

All that period the Gulf of St. Lawrence was the 
great resort for cod, halibut and mackerel, and large 
fishing fleets loaded there annually. But subsequently 
the fish deserted these waters, and now the chief 
trawling areas are on the Grand Banks, whither, of 
course, the several flotillas have betaken themselves. 
The Americans, therefore, lost all the advantages they 
possessed on their treaty coast, in having a base at hand 
which would greatly facilitate them in carrying on their 
operations. 

From the Grand Banks, where all now catch fish, 
the nearest land is the eastern coast of this Island, to 
which the Americans possess only the right of entry if 
in distress ; and, as an essential to successful fishing is 
an accessible seaboard to procure cheap and abundant 
supplies of provisions and outfits, hire men or transfer 
cargoes, they find themselves greatly handicapped there. 

After endless disputes in the early half of the last 
century, they obtained these facilities by the Reciprocity 
Treaty of 1854-1866 ; regained them by the Washington 
Treaty of 1871-1886, and enjoyed them once more by 
the modus vivendi in the abortive Fisheries Treaty of 
1888, which, though originally intended for but two years, 
was continued by Newfoundland until 1905, and is still 
recognized by Canada. Under the Washington Treaty 
an Arbitration was agreed to, which was held at Halifax 
in 1877, to decide what certain fishery privileges were 
worth to the United States, and the award was Canada 
taking $4,500,000, and Newfoundland $1,000,000. 



160 

Canada invested her share and uses the $160,000 of 
annual interest thereon in paying "bounties to her 
fishermen, while Newfoundland spent hers in lighthouses 
and marine works. 

With the abrogating of the Washington Treaty in 
1886 hegins the modern epoch in this dispute. Messrs. 
Bayard (U.S.A.) and Chamherlaiii (Britain), negotiated 
a new Fisheries Treaty in 1888, but the United States 
Senate rejected it. To avert friction while it was before 
that body, an arrangement was reached for two years, 
granting inshore fishing privileges to American vessels, 
by their paying an annual license fee of a dollar and a 
half per ship ton. In 1890, when this was expiring, 
Newfoundland concluded the Bond-Blaine Convention, 
and to expedite its acceptance continued the modus 
vivendi meanwhile. Canada, not included in the com- 
pact, contended, that as these fisheries were the common 
property of all British subjects, Newfoundland could not 
barter them for concessions for herself alone. This 
colony replied that the arrangement did not injure 
Canada, as her fishermen had the same right of entry as 
always, and the Americans were granted no greater con- 
cessions than Canadians. The British Government, 
however, hearkened to Canada's protest, and held over 
the accord until Canada could negotiate a similar one. 

Newfoundland, in return, made legislative war on 
Canada's fishermen and taxed imports from Canada. 
Three years passed before amicable relations were re- 
sumed. In 1898 the Fisheries Question was submitted 
to the Canada- American Joint High Commission, but 
this attempt to dispose of the matter was also fruitless, 
and both Canada and Newfoundland thought it was 
better to continue the modus vivendi, and allow 
Arnerica^n fishermen to enjoy for nominal sums privi- 
leges of steadily increasing value. 

Canada maintained her protest against Newfound- 
land's reciprocity until 1902, when she withdrew it, and 
Premier Bond was enabled to negotiate anew compact 



161 

the "Bond-Hay" convention. But this, after being held 
by the Foreign Relations Committee for two seasons, 
was " amended to death" by the Senate at Washington 
in February, 1905, which body was then asserting its 
co-ordinate authority as a treaty-making power, by 
rejecting various treaties negotiated by President 
Roosevelt. 

The reason why two Washington Cabinets in 1890 
and 1902, favored a Fisheries Treaty with Newfoundland 
and not with Canada, was that they regarded one as 
favorable and the other as detrimental to American 
interests. Canada is territorially attached to the Republic. 
Her Maritime Provinces are within easy train and 
steamer connection with the most populous Eastern 
States. Her fisheries are very large $30,000,000 against 
only $60,000,000 in the United States. Her home market 
is trifling 8,000,000 people against 80,000,000. 
The American Cabinets held that the granting 
of Reciprocity to Canada would mean flooding the 
Republic with cheap fish and destroying the American 
fishing industry, since the Canadians are nearer the 
fishing grounds, conduct their operations less expensively, 
and could undersell the Americans in the latter's markets, 
but for the import duty now levied on foreign fish 
entering there. 

The burking of the Bond-Hay Treaty was performed 
at the instance of the American fishing interests, who 
counted on being able to play off Canada and Newfound- 
land against each other still longer; raising the cry 
that the training-school of the American Navy would be 
destroyed if this compact were ratified. This plea is 
fallacious. The American fishing vessels are no longer 
manned by Americans. Not five per cent, of their per- 
sonnel are American-born, not 25 per cent, naturalized ; 
the great bulk of the men are Nova Scotians and New- 
foundlanders, who join the vessels each spring, returning 
to their homes in the autumn after the fishery is ended. 

Newfoundland therefore, feeling that she had 



162 

been unjustly treated, resolved to retaliate, and in 
the session of her Legislature in March, 1905, enacted 
the " Foreign Pishing Vessels Act," to deny American 
fishing crafts the modus vivendi and other privileges 
they had previously enjoyed. She also enforced against 
them the Bait Act, already applied with such 
destructive effect against the Erench at St. Pierre. 
The American vessels frequenting the Grand Banks 
every summer had always previously obtained bait in 
Newfoundland ports ; now they could only do so on the 
west or treaty-coast, and even there, must catch it them- 
selves. In this they would suffer from three disad- 
vantages. They do not carry the proper gear nor 
enough men for such work, bait is not obtainable there 
until late in the season, and this area is too remote from 
the cod-fishing grounds. The Bait Act could also seri- 
ously cripple their winter herring fishery at Bay of 
Islands, for the practice had been to allow the Americans 
to buy herrings and now they would have to catch them, 
an equally difficult matter with their small crews. 
Premier Bond further tried to prevent them fishing in 
the inlets there, on the plea that their treaty rights did 
not include access to the bays. 

The American Government protested to the British 
against these enactments and eventually an Imperial 
Rescript under the Georgian Statute of 1819, was pro- 
mulgated, over-riding the colonial procedure and placing 
supreme authority in the hands of the naval officers, 
pending a settlement by arbitration, which was finally 
arranged for. 

Accordingly the differences arising out of the con- 
flicting interpretations of the Treaty of 1818, framed to 
determine the liberties which were to be enjoyed under 
it by Americans fishing in these waters, were submitted 
in June, 1910, to the Hague Arbitration Tribunal, and 
resulted after an exhaustive hearing, in an award which 
was notably favourable to the British contentions. 

The Treaty, or Convention, concluded in London 



163 

on October 20th, 1818, granted to " the inhabitants " of 
the United States the liberty of fishing for ever in 
common with British subjects, on 

(a) The south-west coast of Newfoundland, from 
Ramea Islands to Cape Hay, with the further concession 
of landing and drying their catch on the unsettled 
portions of the coast. 

(b) The west coast of Newfoundland, from Cape 
Bay to Cape Norman, but without the concession of 
landing and drying their catch on this coast. (The 
Erench had already been conceded this liberty there). 

(c) The shores of the Magdalen Islands, but without 
the right to land and dry their catch. 

(d) The bays, coasts, harbours and creeks of Labrador 
from Mount Joli, opposite Anticosti, eastwards through 
Belle Isle Strait, and northward indefinitely, with the 
landing and drying privileges as on the south-west coast 
of Newfoundland. 

The Americans, on their part, renounced any 
liberties as to fishing, previously exercised by them 
elsewhere in British North American waters, and agreed 
not to visit these areas in future "for any purpose 
whatever" except wood, water, shelter or repairs. 

This Treaty was designed to end the embroilments 
constantly occurring between the rival fishermen in 
those days, though it is needless to say now that it not 
only failed utterly in this, but also provoked more 
friction as the years went by. Nearly every clause 
contained a debateable issue, and this " fishery question " 
was a cause of difficulty down to the present time. 

At the Arbitration, Great Britain was represented 
by the Hon. A. B. Aylesworth, Minister of Justice for 
Canada, as the agent or solicitor charged with the conduct 
of her case; while the counsel were : Sir W. S. Robson, 
Attorney-General; Sir R. B. Einlay, ex- Attorney- Gen- 
eral ; and Sir Erie Richards, all of England ; Messrs. 
J. S. Ewart, G. W. Shepley and A. S. Tilley, of Canada ; 
Sir E. P. Morris, Prime Minister; Sir J. S. Winter, 



164 

ex-Premier; and the Hon. D. Morison, Minister of 
Justice of Newfoundland. The agent for the United 
States was Mr. Chandler P. Anderson, and the counsel 
were, Senator Elihu Root ; ex- Senator Turner ; and 
Messrs. Elder, Warren, Scott and Lansing. 

A Court under the Hague scheme is created by 
choosing five "impartial jurists of repute," from the 
roster of international nominees to be the Permanent 
Court of Arbitration. Each party to the dispute names 
one " national " member, or one of its own subjects, and 
then chooses a second nominee from some foreign country 
not interested in the dispute; while the two nations 
mutually agree on the fifth member of the Tribunal, who 
is also its President. Thus Great Britain chose Sir Charles 
EitzPatrick, Chief Justice of Canada; and America 
chose the Hon. George Grey, of the Federal Circuit 
Court, as their national members of the Tribunal. The 
former chose Johnkeer Lohman of the Dutch Senate, and 
the latter Dr. Drago, of the Argentine Parliament, as 
their " extra-national " nominees, and both agreed upon 
Professor Heinrich Lammasch, of Austria, as the Presi- 
dent of the Tribunal. The selections appear to have 
been admirable ones, and the choice of Professor 
Lammasch as President, was admittedly unapproachable. 

The instrument or " submission " on which the 
arbitration was founded, comprised seven questions, 
which may be briefly summarized thus : 

(1) REGULATIONS. Were Americans fishing in 
Treaty waters, bound by such fishery ordinances as 
Canada or Newfoundland might enact from time to 
time? 

(2) INHABITANTS. Could American vessels so 
fishing, employ "non-inhabitants" of the United States 
among their crews ? 

(3) CUSTOMS OBLIGATIONS. Were such American 
vessels obliged to enter and clear at Custom-Houses in 
Canada or Newfoundland ? 

(4) COASTWISE ASSESSMENTS. Need such American 



165 

vessels pay light or harbour dues to the Canadian or 
Newfoundland authorities ? 

(5) TERRITORIAL WATER. Did the Territorial 
waters follow the sinuosities of the coast, or stretch 
seaward beyond a line drawn from headland to 
headland ? 

(6) COASTS OR INLETS. Were Americans fishing 
on the western shore of Newfoundland, restricted to the 
outer coast, or were they free to the inlets also, as on 
Labrador ? 

(7) COMMERCIAL PRIVILEGES. Could American 
fishing vessels, enjoying specific treaty liberties, also 
enjoy the ordinary commercial privileges of trading 
crafts ? 

The proceedings at the Hague in this trial were the 
most protracted in modern arbitrations. The printed 
" cases," " counter-cases " and " arguments " comprised 
eight volumes, aggregating nearly 4,000 pages. The 
oral addresses of the eight counsel who spoke, totalled 
some 2,500,000 words, and over 1,100 exhibits were put 
in. The sessions began on June 1st, and lasted till 
August 12th, and all records were broken by the opening 
speeches of Messrs. Einlay and Turner, who occupied a 
fortnight each. 

The decision of the arbitrators was filed on 
September 7th, and its most notable feature was, that it 
was virtually unanimous on all points. Dr. Drago 
dissented from his colleagues in their finding as to 
question 5 ; but his objection was rather an argument 
that the Tribunal should go further and specifically 
delimit certain inlets to which the " headland " theory 
as to territorial or geographical bays, should apply. 

The award, in brief, was as follows : (V/) American 
fishing vessels are bound to conform to all reasonable 
fishery regulations enforced by Canada or Newfoundland 
and a subsidiary Tribunal was created to determine 
what were " reasonable ;" (b) these vessels may employ 
"non-inhabitants" of the United States among their 



166 

crews, but such, persons enjoy no immunity thereby; 
(<?) these vessels must enter and clear at Custom-houses 
when humanly possible so to do; (d) they need not, 
however, pay light or harbour dues, unless such are 
collected from Canadian or Newfoundland vessels; 

(e) the bays are all sea-areas within headlands ; 

(f) American vessels can, however, fish in the inlets on 
the west coast of Newfoundland ; (g) but such vessels 
cannot exercise fishing liberties and commercial privileges 
in the same voyage. 

All the honors of the encounter lay with Great Britain. 
She secured for Canada and Newfoundland practically 
every point of importance involved in the award. Only 
two regulations of any importance are questioned as 
" unreasonable " the prohibition of fishing on Sundays, 
and the prevention of purse-seining, an exceedingly 
destructive method of fishing. As colonists are subject 
to these restrictions already, it is improbable that the 
Americans will secure their reversal, especially as purse- 
seines were forbidden on the New England coast for 
some years. Then under the clause as to "non- 
inhabitants," Newfoundland can prevent her own people 
from hiring aboard American vessels to fish in treaty-coast 
water. The requirement that such vessels shall report 
at Custom Houses when humanly possible is imperative, 
in order to prevent smuggling and illegalities, while, on 
the other hand, they are exempted from payment of 
light dues when colonial vessels are exempt. The 
affirming of the " headland " doctrine respecting bays, 
gives Newfoundland absolute control of the inshore 
fisheries; the permission to Americans to fish in the 
west coast inlets is due to their having done so for 
ninety years; but American vessels cannot pose as traders 
and fishers in the same voyage, but must qualify as 
one or the other and remain so during the cruise. 

The effect of the award then, so far as Canada is 
concerned, is to exclude American fishermen entirely 
from the bays and coastwise waters save in the Magdalen 



167 

Islands and Canadian Labrador, and this will seriously 
hamper them in fishing off her Atlantic seaboard, besides 
being restricted in her treaty waters to carrying on their 
industry under her " reasonable " regulations. 

As regards Newfoundland, they are excluded from 
virtually all of her seaboard except the west coast, though 
entry is essential to them to secure bait for cod fishing 
on the Grand Banks. On the west coast they can, 
however, fish subject to " reasonable " regulations. But 
the only fishes they seek there are herrings, and these 
during the last three months of the year, which business 
requires larger crews and outfits than their small 
schooners could carry from American ports. Therefore, 
their practice has been to buy cargoes from the coastfolk 
under permits granted by the Colonial Government ; 
and latterly they have hired local fishermen beyond 
territorial waters. The award disallows this, denies them 
trading privileges, and grants Newfoundland virtually 
absolute mastery in her own waters. 

The harmonious outcome of this arbitration is the 
most decided advance towards an Anglo-American accord 
in the history of the two nations. Every previous 
arbitration between them resulted in bitter protests 
from one side or the other. The Maine boundary and 
the Oregon boundary provoked much discontent. In 
the " Alabama " arbitration, the British Commissioner 
refused to sign the award ; in the Halifax arbitration, 
the American nominee did the same; when the Paris 
Tribunal in 1894 decided the Behring Sea sealing dispute, 
it was against the protest of the American members ; and 
the story of the refusal of Canada's delegates to sign the 
Alaskan boundary award in 1903 is too familiar to need 
more than the briefest reference. 

It therefore augurs well for the future that there 
was unanimous award by the International Tribunal on 
this fishery dispute ; that such sturdy exponents of 
national spirit as Judges Fitzpatrick and Grey wore able 
to find common ground for their decision ; that the press 



168 

and people of both nations fully recognised the honesty 
and good faith of the arbitrators ; and that the award 
was received without captious criticism from the news- 
papers of the whole English-speaking world. 

When one recalls the tone of Canadian comment 
upon the Alaskan award, or the condemnation by 
colonial newspapers of the " supineness " of British 
diplomacy as lately as two years ago, in regard to this 
very fishery dispute, the conclusion must be that a great 
advance has been made, and a new era in Anglo- 
American relations opened up by the submission of this 
matter to the judicial impartiality of the International 
Supreme Court. 



169 



CHAPTER XXII. 

THE LABRADOR PENINSULA. 

GREAT FISHING CENTRE MINERAL AND WOODLAND 

POSSIBILITIES SPORTING AND SCENIC ATTRACTIONS 

GRENFELL DEEP SEA MISSION. 

TVTEWFOUNDLAND'S chief dependency, where one 
J^ of her greatest cod fisheries is prosecuted, is 
Labrador, a territory half as large as Europe, and yet 
containing a resident population of only 3,500 whites, or 
" livyers," though every summer 15,000 fisherf oik- 
men, women, and children emigrate there for cod- 
catching and locate along the coast-line which forms the 
hase of the enterprise. 

Labrador is that portion of the Canadian mainland 
between Belle Isle Strait and Hudson Bay. It is said 
to take its name from a Basque fisherman named 
Bradore, who settled in the bay of that name about 1520. 
Cartier charted it in 1534, and it soon became the centre 
of a large fishery, France maintaining a garrison of 500 
men in a strong fort at Bradore, relics of whose occupa- 
tion are still found there. About 1760, they abandoned 
Labrador because of the incursions of sea-raiders during 
the wars preceding the surrender of Quebec. It was 
then placed under the jurisdiction of Canada, next 
of Newfoundland, then of Canada again, and in 
1809 of Newfoundland once more, whose appananv 
it has since been. It has no settled form <jf 
Government, justice being dispensed by the medical 
missionaries who labour there and who hold commissions 



170 

of the peace. Such trivial disputes regarding fishery 
matters as arise in the tiny hamlets along the coast, 
where a peace-loving people have their abode, are their 
only cases. 

The shallows off the Labrador coast are the resort 
of countless " schools " of cod, and the fishermen net 
them from suitable points. The whole coast is fringed 
with barren islands of naked rock, engirt with wide, 
deep channels. Great fiords eat for miles into the 
granite steeps, and countless harbours are formed wherein 
the fishing crafts can lie in safety. The scenery along 
the coast is wild and impressive, the rugged plateaus 
being scarred by prehistoric glaciers in their resistless 
sweep across this flinty track. The southern section has 
many wooded areas and forest tracts lying in the ravines 
sheltered from the ocean, and here herd the game birds 
and animals of the region in such abundance, that only 
its comparative isolation prevents its becoming one of the 
great resorts of the world. 

Although Labrador is at present chiefly noted for 
its fisheries, there is no question that it is destined for a 
great future as a mineral, forest and sporting country. 
Its mineral wealth is varied and extensive ; the valleys 
of the interior are richly covered with forest growth, and 
its attractions as a hunting ground, a game-fishing resort, 
and a region rich in scenic beauties, are no whit inferior 
to Norway's, so that in years to come, and perhaps not 
distant ones, it may develop into a country with a future 
as promising as that of Alaska. 

Indeed, it is much akin to Alaska in all its charac- 
teristics. Geographically, it occupies the same relation 
to the North American Continent on the east that 
Alaska does on the west ; and its geological formation 
is much the same. There are many confident observers 
who predict that some day gold will be found in 
Labrador as abundantly as in Alaska. The peltries of 
Labrador are the finest in the world and fetch the 
highest prices to-day in the great fur markets. Its 



171 

forest areas are already being worked and shipments of 
lumber made from Hamilton Inlet every summer ; and 
many travellers have told of its abundance of game in 
fin, fur and feather. 

Eastern Labrador is roughly divided into two 
sections by Hamilton Inlet, a mighty fiord which strikes 
back into the territory for some 200 miles. South of it 
is a region richly dowered with forest areas and the 
two-thirds of the region which lies north of it, are those 
in which it is believed the mineral wealth thereof will 
yet be found, further into the country. British warships, 
Newfoundland mail boats and ocean freighters to load 
lumber, safely navigate its waters. About fifty miles 
back from the coast, the wooded country begins on both 
banks of the Inlet which is here about twelve miles wide. 
All this region is thickly covered with excellent timber 
which stretches back from the water in scores and per- 
haps hundreds of miles. 

Sir William MacGregor, late Governor of New- 
foundland, who, while filling similar posts in Fiji, New 
Guinea and West Africa, made extensive explorations of 
these countries, visited Labrador officially in 1908 and 
navigated Hamilton Inlet in the colonial cruiser 
Fiona. In his official report to the Secretary of 
State for the Colonies, Governor MacGregor says that 
" We had time to examine the North-west Iliver only as 
far as the southern end of the Grand Lake, from which 
it debouches. But this enabled us to see that there is 
in the vicinity a large area of forest suitable for pulp 
manufacture. At a lumber camp where we stopped, we 
saw trees with a diameter of three feet, and showing 
170 rings, each representing a year's growth, and I 
personally examined two, one of which was 6 ft. 6 in. 
in circumference at the butt and 4 ft. 4 in. at the top, 
and the other 7 ft. 1 in. at the butt and 4 ft. 8 in. at the 
top, and the rings on the first were about 212 and on the 
second, about 240. These two logs were perfectly sound 
at the core and were the largest I saw, but I was 



172 

assured that there are larger than those on the Kennimau 
River. It may safely be said that there are trees in 
that district 240 years old. At the mill in this vicinity 
the smallest logs for sawing had a diameter of about 15 
inches, and counted about 60 rings. The Company 
exported some 800,000 feet of lumber the previous 
summer, and I had then on hand some 450,000 feet." 

It is quite evident that a country of this size and 
area must possess immense water powers, and Sir William 
MacGregor also testifies to this fact in his report wherein 
he observes as follows : " To at least superficial and 
hurried examination it would seem that the Muskrat 
Ealls would provide very valuable water power. The 
volume of water that descends there is probably twenty 
or thirty times as great as that of the Exploits River, 
supposed to be the largest stream in Newfoundland. The 
form of the river at the Muskrat Palls would seem to fit 
it most favourably for supplying power, probably best 
by tunnels through the little hills. It would be 
difficult for one to see these falls with this immense 
potential power, without thinking of the extensive forests 
of that country which could be converted into paper 
pulp; and without putting to oneself the question 
whether a line of electric railway will not, one day, 
traverse the Hamilton Watershed to the Atlantic." 

Travellers who have visited Labrador speak in the 
highest terms of its scenic and sporting attractions. 
Dr. Grenfell, who has been constantly voyaging there 
for nearly twenty years, says : 

" After many years' cruising the coast as master of 
my own vessel, after having visited the coasts of 
Norway and Iceland, as well as having coasted all round 
the British Isles, I consider that none of these European 
shores offers a more fascinating and safer field for 
pleasure cruising than the coast of Labrador. If the 
visitor to Labrador desires scenery of a wild and rocky 
nature, he should certainly aim for the northern half of 
the north-east coast. So far as known, no white man 



173 

has ever climbed any one of these hornlike, rocky piles ; 
their heights have been variously estimated at from six 
to ten thousand feet. The probable heights seem to 
be from six thousand to seven thousand feet. Many of 
the beautiful inlets in the southern half of this coast 
may be explored with small, open boats or even with 
canoes. Some of the inlets canbe easily reached by leaving 
the mail steamer. But the universal attraction of the 
coast the ever changing glory of the atmosphere 
cannot be localized or described. Color is everywhere, 
with a gamut that few parts of the world can equal. 
Erom the hilltops the land is a giant opal, changing in a 
million moods, from the tenderest gray or blue, through 
vivid emerald or most royal purples, to the unsurpassed 
gold and reds of the long twilights and dawns." 

Eut the fisherman cares little for its mines or 
its forests, its scenery or its sport. He is concerned only 
in reaping from its ocean floor sustenance for his family, 
and he allows nothing to interfere with this. The world 
has probably nothing so unique as the annual migration 
of these Newfoundland fisherfolk to this region, nor an 
industry so strange as they pursue. About May in each 
year they embark in their vessels with their goods and 
chattels, shut up their homes and sail for Labrador, where 
they disperse along its extensive seaboard. The fishermen 
are of two classes "stationers" and "floaters." The 
former have homes in certain harbours and fish near by, 
shipping much of their cured product direct to market 
from the coast. The latter carry on their venture from 
their schooners and cruise farther north as the season 
advances. About 1,000 to 1,200 vessels classed as 
" floaters," are annually engaged in the Labrador fishery. 

In October the season is over, and these hardy 
voyagers return to their homes, the 3,500 "livyers" 
residing there permanently. These "livyers" (live 
heres) are so called to distinguish them from the summer 
fishermen, and there are one or two families in every 
harbour. During the summer, they reside along the coast 



174 

for the fishing, but in winter most of them retire 
to the wooded tracts at the heads of the bays, where 
there is shelter, warmth and a means of increasing their 
food supply by the killing of game which abounds there. 
The trapping of fur-bearing animals is also undertaken, 
the peltries being exchanged for food and clothing when 
the traders are on the coast in summer. 

During the summer, clergymen of the different 
denominations are to be found on the coasts, and now 
and again one volunteers for a winter sojourn there, but 
the seaboard is so sparsely settled, that it is almost 
impossible for them to reach their scattered flocks. 
Only a few years ago, however, a young Anglican cleric 
decided upon a six years' stay among the heathen 
Eskimos in Ungava Bay, on the borders of Hudson 
Bay. 

Further south than this, in the region extending to 
Hamilton Inlet and known locally as " Northern Labra- 
dor," dwells a tribe of Christianized Eskimos, about 
1,500 in all, whose uplifting is due to the Moravian 
missionaries from Germany who have been labouring 
among them for a century past. These missionaries 
maintain six stations Hopedale, Zoar, Nain, Okak, 
Hebron and Hainan and have done most commendable 
work among these Innuits. 

lloaming the wooded interior, are Montagnais and 
Nascopee Indians, a branch of the great Cree tribe. 
These number about 3,000, and are hunters and trappers 
almost entirely. They live in the forests and visit the 
fur posts which are located in the inlets, where communi- 
cation by sea can be easily kept up and supplies secured 
without losing touch with the interior to which they are 
almost the only avenues. Steamers belonging to the 
Moravian and the Hudson Bay Company visit the coast 
each summer with stores for the stations, and to take 
away the stocks of peltries accumulated during the 
winter. 

The outlook for agriculture in the sheltered inlets 



175 

of Labrador is decidedly favorable. The climate in that 
section is by no means as harsh as it has been represented. 
The soil is loamy and free from rocks. In the vicinity 
of the lumber mills there, the Companies operating the 
same have cleared ground and planted it with vegetables 
and grains; and splendid crops of potatoes, cabbage, 
turnips, radishes, beets, spring beans, as well as grasses, 
hay and oats, are grown there annually ; while alders, 
willows and other growths are very abundant and 
advanced. 

The Labrador peninsula is the home of countless 
herds of caribou, and these have been slaughtered by 
the Eskimos and "livyers " on such a scale in the past, 
that thousands of skins have been exported from there 
every season. Latterly, however, this practice has 
been discouraged, and the kill has been much more 
limited. 

The fur-bearing animals have been taken chiefly 
by the settlers with traps, but the feathered game has 
afforded a never-ceasing abundance to all who would 
try for such. The river fishing is equally excellent. 
Dr. Grenfell says : " The river fishing of Labrador 
should be a great attraction to friends from the Old 
Country to visit us. In Canada all the salmon rivers 
are leased for large sums, largely to wealthy Americans. 
This colony has preserved all its river fishing for its own 
people, and, though all netting is forbidden, anyone may 
fish with a rod and line for salmon and trout. With my 
skipper and a young friend, I landed an evening or two 
ago and fished awhile. In two hours and a half we had 
all we could carry, though we were still all three fishing 
in the same pool we began in, and the trout were taking 
the fly just as freely as when we began. Our bag 
weighed 125 Ib. The largest fish weighed l- lb., and 
the average fish weighed 1 lb. This is no new experi- 
ence. I have had to take off two flies from a cast of 
three, owing to the fish taking them all three at once. 
Naturally, the salmon are not so greedy, but^ good 



176 

salmon fishing can be enjoyed free by visitors in any 
part of the Colony." 

No article respecting Labrador would be complete 
without a reference to the work of the branch of the 
Boyal National Mission to Deep Sea fishermen which 
was inaugurated on that coast nearly 20 years ago by 
Dr. W. T. Grenfell and which has enormously increased 
its activities since then. The lack of medical aid for the 
fishermen attracted the attention of prominent members 
of that Mission in England, and Dr. Grenfell, then its 
Superintendent in the North Sea, was empowered to 
visit Labrador and inaugurate a branch there. This 
he did in 1892, in the hospital ship Albert, a sealing 
craft, and established an hospital at Battle Harbour. 
Experience taught him that a steam vessel was necessary, 
and he procured a large launch, named the Princess 
May. His next venture was the establishing of a 
second hospital at Indian Harbour at the mouth of 
Hamilton Inlet, and then he secured a second launch, 
the Julia Sheridan. Next came a larger ship, the Sir 
Donald, and finally the splendid steam hospital yacht, 
Strathcona, largely the gift of that eminent philan- 
thropist. The steamer is known to every fisherman 
from Ungava Bay to the southern end of the mission, 
1,000 miles away. She follows the fleets, travelling up 
and down the coast ; and is eagerly w r atched for by the 
fishermen and their families. She has an hospital on 
board, and conveys patients from their homes to the 
mission's land hospitals. The people flock to her when 
she comes to port, seeking treatment if they are sick, 
and news of the fishery's progress if they are well. 

By this means, the mission has been able to give a 
practical demonstration of the Gospel of Love, which wins 
the hearts of the people as nothing else could. Dr. 
Grenfell and his staff have become " fishers of men," 
and they have been rewarded with continued and large 
catches. Dr. Grenfell has built three hospitals in 
Newfoundland territory and one in Canada. These 




I 








177 

hospitals have done a splendid work. The men and 
women who have been taken in, have been carefully 
nursed, have been cured of their diseases, and have 
returned to their homes, deeply grateful. The mission 
has been an immense benefit physically, morally and 
spiritually. Dr. Grenfell and his assistants go about 
among the thousand fishermen in the summer, minister- 
ing to their physical wants, holding services either on 
shore or on the sea as the need arises simple services 
with nothing at all savouring of creed or denomination 
the broad fact of God's love, which is understood by 
these simple people, whom the sea and its solemn 
mysteries have made reverent. 

Dr. Grenfell's latest undertaking has been to 
introduce Lapland reindeer into Labrador, 300 of these 
having been procured by him some three years ago, 
which have since increased to 800, and which he has at 
present herded in Northern Labrador until he is able 
to transfer them to Labrador, where lie proposes to 
distribute them among the " livyers " in substitution 
for the savage dogs of the region which are now used as 
beasts of burden, and which he hopes to have the 
owners then decide to exterminate, because they are 
destructive to every living animal on the coast ; human 
beings not excepted at times. The reindeer is more 
satisfactory as a draft animal and can be fed on the 
mosses with which the* country is covered to such an 
extent, as to form a virtually inexhaustible supply, and 
he hopes to repeat in Labrador the success of the 
experiment undertaken in Alaska twenty years ago by 
Dr. Sheldon Jackson on behalf of the United States, 
there being now some 1,500 reindeer in that country ; 
and they have proved the salvation of the n; 
races there. 

In the "Business Man's Magazine" of New York, <>!' 
March, 1906, Dr. J. S. Johnson, the editor, who visited 
Hamilton Inlet, Labrador, in the Summer of 1905, a > 
the accredited press representative to the Canadian 

M 



178 

Government solar Eclipse expedition sent to North- west 
River, which eclipse was also ohserved hy Governor 
MacGregor, in an article on " Business Possibilities in 
Labrador," says as follows : 

" When the truth about Labrador is known, the 
silence of centuries will be broken by the pick and 
hammer and spade of the prospector, the throb of the 
lumber mill, the pulp mill and the factory. Like all the 
areas underlying glaciated archaen rocks, it contains 
innumerable drainage basins, discharging through a 
network of streams flowing to every point of the 
compass, and contributing to a rich forest growth 
in the interior valleys. Climatic conditions in Labra- 
dor, except among the coastal highlands, where the 
eternal dampness of the sea is felt, are much the same 
as in Canada. In the wooded tracts of the southerly 
inlets and valleys from early June to the end of 
August, one might imagine himself among the Adiron- 
acks or the verdure- clad hills and lakes and islands of 
the Makoka region of Ontario. Eorest areas chiefly 
of spruce and larch are widely scattered, these trees 
being found in most of the glens up to the extreme 
north. Along the sides of the river valleys the soil is 
richer, and supports trees in greater size and variety. 
On the southern watershed, the wooded areas expand. 
Here the forest growth becomes even more luxuriant. 
Large tracts, especially along the waterways, are richly 
covered with trees of commercially marketable size 
virgin forests that awaits the woodman's axe. The 
forest areas of its southern watershed, easily accessible, 
contain sufficient pulp - wood, under same forestry 
practice, to supply the paper mills of the world for ever." 



179 



CHAPTER XXIII. 
CLIMATE AND SCENERY. 

DELIGHTFUL CLIMATE OF NEWFOUNDLAND UNRI- 
VALLED SCENIC ATTRACTIONS TESTIMONY OF EMINENT 
VISITORS A COMING HEALTH RESORT. 

THERE is an idea abroad that Newfoundland is 
somewhere near the North Pole, and that ice, 
snow and fog abound. No impression could be more 
erroneous. As a matter of fact, Newfoundland is much 
less cold than the neighbouring provinces of Canada, and 
in no parts of the country does the thermometer but rarely 
drop below zero. In the interior and on the western 
slopes fog is unknown, and on the east coast much rarer 
than supposed ; while a more delightful climate it would 
be impossible to imagine. The natural growth of the 
Island includes wild berries, fruits and flowers, which 
only ripen with a great wealth of sunshine ; and the fact 
that the whole of the wilderness interior is covered with 
these berries attests more conclusively than anything 
else to the salubrity and mildness of its climate. More- 
over, nearly every fisherman now has his garden, in 
which home-grown vegetables and fruits are raised for 
the family table, and throughout the interior are found 
extensive areas suitable for cattle grazing, sheep raising 
and pasture purposes. 

The temperature of Newfoundland does not undergo 
nearly so many alterations as the temperature of 
Quebec, Montreal and Ottawa, as may be seei* from 



180 

these figures, compiled by Sir William MacGregor, the 
late Governor of Newfoundland, and now of Queensland : 

Mean Tempera- Mean Tempera- Mean Tempera- 
ture of year. ture of January. ture of July. 

St. John's 39-37 ... 21/09 ... 56-51 

Quebec 38'12 ... 9-14 ... 66'02 

Montreal 41'34 ... 12'38 ... 68'90 

Ottawa 40-64 ... 10'58 69*26 

As much as 33 C., which is equal to 59'40 degrees 
Fahrenheit, of frost has been registered at Montreal, and 
as much as 47 C. at Winnipeg, which represents 85'5 
degrees Fahrenheit of frost. The Newfoundland winter 
temperature is thus less trying to vegetation than is the 
case in the nearest provinces of " Britain's Granary." 

The spring is a somewhat backward season, but the 
snow and frost help to break up the soil and moisten the 
earth, so that once vegetation sets in, the growth is rapid, 
crops ripening much quicker than in the Eastern hemis- 
phere. Sir William MacGregor remarks on this point : 

"The growth that sets in with the early autumn 
was comparable only to what one sees in a well-conducted 
forcing bed. The whole country seems to be transformed 
in a few days into an enormous greenhouse. The contrast 
between the beginning and end of July was such, that I 
doubted if I had ever seen greater vegetable growth in 
the same time in the tropics. There can be no doubt 
whatever that the vegetables grown in this country for 
human food are of very superior quality. This they 
probably owe to some extent to the extraordinary 
rapidity of their growth, which favours the development 
of the cellular element and gives little time to the 
fibrous tissue to toughen and harden. From the point 
of view of health on the other hand, the climate gives an 
atmosphere of somewhat Arctic purity, to which is 
added the aroma of extensive pine forests." 

The winter season is remarkable for two phenomena ; 
one, an ice condition known as " silver thaw," and the 
other, a meteorological condition known as the 



181 

borealis." The silver thaw, so called, is caused by rain 
falling with a low temperature, being congealed as it 
descends, and depositing itself on every object which 
obstructs its passage in a condition of translucent ice, 
Avhich goes on increasing as the storm continues, until 
every tree and leaf seems to be coated with crystal, the 
effect of which when the sun shines, is splendid beyond 
description. The aurora borealis is a mighty display of 
what is known as " the Northern Lights." The brilliant 
illumination covers the whole heavens and the many 
hues of the amazing coruscations flood the entire 
celestial dome. 

The summers are remarkably equable and pleasant, 
the temperature ranges from 70 to 80 degrees, and the 
extremes of heat and cold which are common in 
Canada and the United States are not experienced here. 
Even when the days are warm, the nights are cool, 
and the breezes always invigorating. Prom June until 
December the weather is ideal, and as a health resort the 
colony is increasing in popularity every year. The fogs 
to which the country chiefly owes an unenviable 
notoriety, are confined to the " Banks " out in the 
Atlantic, hundreds of miles from her coasts. The causes 
of the fogs farther south are the commingling of the 
Arctic current and the Gulf Stream on the Grand 
Banks ; the frigid and torrid waters sending up a mass 
of vapour which, during the summer months, enshrouds 
this region in brumous mist. The fog rarely penetrates 
inland, and there the sun usually shines brightly, the air 
is dry and balmy, and the ozone is salubrious to a degree. 
The 'mean annual temperature the past ten years was 
41'5 : the average height of the barometer was 29'39 
inches. The existence of ice-floes in winter and the 
presence of bergs that are ferried down from the Greenland 
coast, have done much to perpetuate the impression that 
Newfoundland is constantly fog and ice bound, but for 
the greater portion of the year such conditions do not 
exist at all, and some seasons pass without the great 



182 

mass of the people ever looking upon a fragment of 
sea-borne ice at all. 

The testimony of representative persons who have 
resided in Newfoundland will be valuable as evidence of 
the truth with regard to the climate. Sir Richard 
Bonnycastle, who spent some years in the Island, says in 
a history of Newfoundland, which he published in 1842 : 

" We find that the extremities of temperature in 
Newfoundland are trifling compared with those of 
Canada. There the thermometer falls as low as twenty- 
seven degrees below zero, and even lower at times 
in winter, and rises to ninety in summer. Here (in 
Newfoundland) the lowest temperature in winter 
scarcely exceeds zero, or eight or ten degrees below it, 
excepting upon rare occasions ; and in the height of 
summer does not attain more in common years, than 
seventy-nine degrees. "Winter may really be said to 
commence here towards the latter end of November 
only, though fires are comfortable adjuncts during most 
of that month ; and its severity begins after Christmas, 
runs through January and February, and becomes less 
and less stern until the middle of April, when it ceases 
altogether. In the winter of 1840, ploughing was going 
after Christmas. It is generally supposed in England 
that Newfoundland is constantly enveloped in fog and wet 
mist; nothing, however, could be further from the truth. 
The summers are frequently so hot and dry that for 
want of rain the grass perishes the summer of 1840 
was one of these and the nights are unusually splendid ; 
whilst in winter fog is very rarely seen." 

He kept a register in regard to foggy days, from 
which it appeared that in 1841, there were only seventeen 
and a half days of thick fog in St. John's, " which is more 
exposed to the Bank weather, as it is called, than any 
other part of the Island ; " and light fogs were prevalent 
only nineteen and a half days ; giving thirty-seven days 
of foggy weather on the shore throughout the year. He 
remarks further on the light clothing with which the 



183 

labouring classes went about in winter, and on their 
robust appearance, and pronounces the climate salubrious 
in the highest degree. 

The late Dr. Mullock, Roman Catholic Bishop of the 
Island, in one of his lectures, says : " We never have the 
thermometer down to zero, unless once or twice in the 
year, and then only for a few hours and for a few degrees, 
three, four or perhaps ten ; while we hear of a tempera- 
ture of ten and twenty below zero in Canada and New 
Brunswick ; and this life-destroying cold continuing for 
days, perhaps weeks. Then see another effect of this 
the Canadians and other North Americans of the same 
latitude are obliged to keep up hot stoves almost 
continually in their houses, while we have open fire 
places, or at most Pranklins ; our children, I may say, are 
lightly clad as in summer and spend a larger portion of 
their time in the open air ; and thus while our neighbours 
have the colour of confinement tingeing their cheeks, and 
their children look comparatively pale, our youngsters 
are blooming with the rosy hue of health, developing 
their energies by air and exercise, and preparing 
themselves for the battle of life hereafter, either as 
hardly mariners or healthy matrons the blooming 
mothers of a powerful race. The mean temperature of 
1859 was 44 degrees." 

Sir Stephen Hill, who was Governor of the Island 
for six years, says : " The climate of Newfoundland is 
exceedingly healthy. The robust and healthy appearance 
of the people, and the advanced ages to which many of 
them attain, testify to the purity and excellence of the 
air which they inhale and the invigorating qualities of 
the breezes of British North America. " 

Alexander Murray, C.M.G., Geological Surveyor, 
who spent sixteen years in the Island, traversing it in all 
directions, says : " The climate of Newfoundland is, as 
compared with the neighbouring continent, a moderately 
temperate one. The heat is far less intense on an 
average, during the summer than in any part of Canada, 



184 

and the extreme cold of winter is much less severe. 
The thermometer rarely indicates higher than seventy 
degrees Eah., in the former, or much below zero in the 
latter, although the cold is occasionally aggravated hy 
storms and the humidity consequent on an insular 
position. The climate is undoubtedly a very healthy one, 
and the general physique of the natives, who are a 
powerfully-built, robust and hardy race, is a good 
example of its influence." 

The Rev. Philip Tocque, in a history of Newfound- 
land, published by him in 1877, says of the climate : 
" The winters of Newfoundland are not by many degrees 
so cold as in the neighbouring provinces or the northern 
states, nor is the climate so changeful. It is admitted 
that the climate of Newfoundland has gradually under- 
gone an alteration the last forty years, and is now much 
warmer than formerly. St. John's, the capital, is nearer 
the Equator than London, Dublin or Edinburgh, and 
actually lies in the same latitude as Paris. In New- 
foundland, the sea fog prevails only on the eastern and 
southern shores, and then but at intervals during the 
summer months. I saw more dense fog during a fortnight 
I spent in St. John's, New Brunswick, than I saw in St. 
John's, Newfoundland, for years, and I have seen much 
more fog in Halifax and Boston than I ever saw on the 
eastern coast of Newfoundland. According to a register 
kept at St. John's, Newfoundland, the average of thick 
fog and partial light fog extending a short distance 
inland was 17-J days of thick fog and 19J days of light 
fog and mists, making a total of only 37 days of cloudy 
weather throughout the year. A register kept at the 
Citadel Eort, Halifax, Nova Scotia, and kindly furnished 
me by Mr. Gr. Moulds, Royal Artillery, shews that there 
were in Nova Scotia 42 days of thick fog and 60 days of 
light fog, making a total of 112 days foggy weather, 
besides 110 days of cloudy weather, in a year." 

Mr. J. P/Howley, E.G.S., and present Director of 
the Geological Survey, in one of his reports, says : 



185 

" I myself spent four months during the past season 
in the interior without experiencing a genuine foggy 
day. During the entire months of July and August the 
weather in the interior was delightful." 

SCENERY. 

Newfoundland contains some of the grandest and 
most heautiful scenery in the world, as a glance at 
photographs depicting its natural attractions, will 
convince the most sceptical. It resembles Norway 
in many respects and in none more than the 
picturesque features of its coast line and the mighty 
bays in which yachtsmen and travellers can delight. 
The deep inlets which cut up the coast every few 
miles, the lofty cliffs which evoke the admiration of 
the beholder, and the tree-clad valleys through which 
its beautiful rivers run, are strikingly similar to the 
Norwegian panoramas, and are as attractive in their 
scenery. The delightfully exhilarating summers, the 
bright skies and sunlit days, the genial and invigorating 
atmosphere, and the favouring climate which is so 
delightful a change from the torrid heats of other 
countries, make it a region that every year attracts 
an increasing number of visitors." 

As time goes on, these numbers will still further 
increase, and the best evidence of the growth of traffic 
is furnished by the Reid Company deciding to establish 
a daily steamship service between Cape Breton and Port- 
aux-Basques, with a daily express service across the 
Island. Hunters and fishers to trail the lordly caribou 
and the gamey salmon ; artists and photographers to 
carry away views of its natural beauties ; and vacationists 
to regain their shattered health all are crowding into 
the island in recent years. Nor are its attractions 
confined to the inanimate beauties of the country and 
the game with which it abounds ; but an equally pleasant 
experience is it, to move about among the people in thr 
fishing villages, seek for cod with them in their boats 



186 

and skiffs in the coastwise waters, and to see them ply 
their arduous avocations along this rugged seahoard. 

Admiral Sir William Kennedy, H.N., who, as 
commander of H.M.S. Druid, spent several years in 
Newfoundland in the Fisheries Protection Service, and 
who knows the Island thoroughly, published some years 
ago " Sporting Notes on Newfoundland," this extract 
from which will show his opinion of the climate and 
scenery : " To one who, like the writer, has had the 
opportunity of seeing the country, of mingling with 
its warm-hearted inhabitants, of penetrating into the 
vast and almost unknown interior in quest of sport, 
Newfoundland presents a deeply interesting aspect, 
whether it be from a sporting, an artistic or a social 
point of view. I have no hesitation in saying, that during 
the five summer months the climate is far superior to that 
of Great Britain, while the winters are undoubtedly 
milder than those of Nova Scotia or New Brunswick. 
During July, August, September, and part of October, 
the weather is magnificent, the thermometer ranging 
occasionally as high as 95 degrees. At this time the 
country presents a most beautiful appearance, resembling 
in parts the Highlands of Scotland. The mountains are 
clothed to their tops with many kinds of woods, 
conspicuous among which are the fir, the pine, maple, 
birch and hazel. The " barrens " are covered with a 
rich carpet of moss of every shade and colour, and 
abound in all sorts of wild berries, pleasing both to the 
eye and taste. The banks of the rivers are also at this 
time fringed with wild strawberries, raspberries, currants 
and blueberries, and adorned with many kinds of lovely 
ferns and wild flowers ; while foaming torrents and 
tumbling cascades complete a picture delightful to the 
eye of the artist and the salmon fisher. The scenery of 
the south coast is of the grandest description; deep 
gorges in the coastline lead through narrow entrances, 
with precipitous cliffs on either hand, to magnificent 
harbours where the navies of Europe may float secure from 



187 

every gale. In the interior are thousands, aye millions of 
acres of good land, suitable for growing crops or raising 
cattle or sheep, as is shewn by the magnificent wild 
grass which grows in all the swamps and upon which 
the deer feed unmolested, save when the solitary hunter 
intrudes upon their sanctuary. As regards salubrity of 
climate, Newfoundland has no equal. On our visits round 
the coast the doctor's duties were absolutely nil. I believe 
that few countries have such advantages as are possessed 
by Newfoundland, with her magnificent harbours and 
her boundless stores of wealth ; but no country has ever 
yet progressed without railroads, or even roads. With 
the completion of the railway, with copper mines in full 
blast along her shores, and other industries in like 
activity, the proud boast of every Newfoundlander: 
" This Newfoundland of ours," will be no idle one. 



188 



CHAPTER XXIV. 
A SPORTSMAN'S PARADISE. 

HUNTING AND EISHING ATTRACTIONS FOR TOURIST AND 

HEALTH-SEEKER GAME PARADISE OP SPORTSMEN 

GAME LAWS. 

Newfoundland is each year becoming more and more 
the objective of sportsmen and tourists, attracted by the 
certainty of employment for rod, gun and camera among 
the wild game and fish, and the natural beauties of the 
sea-board and interior. As the Island is virtually 
unpeopled save around the sea-board, and as, apart from 
the railway which runs through the interior with stations 
at intervals, affording access to the coast towns, the 
country is in its primeval state with countless lakes and 
streams abounding in trout, broad stretches of upland 
moor tenanted by vast herds of caribou, the sea-board 
broken up by numerous estuaries that are the home of 
the lordly salmon, and the diversified natural beauties of 
the region increased by the presence, all through the 
summer, of brilliant weather, making a sojourn there an 
unending delight; the rush of visitors is constantly 
increasing. 

Of large game the caribou stand foremost, but there 
are also bears, wolves and lynxes, fur-bearing animals 
such as foxes, otters, marten, minks, musk-rats and rabbits, 
while of birds, there are willow- grouse, spruce, partridge, 
Canada goose, Brant goose, and many varieties of duck, 
snipe, woodcock and plover. Eor the rod, there is trout 
and salmon fishing as fine as the world can afford, to be 



189 

had in such abundance as to satisfy the most exacting 
and for the camera an unceasing variety of strikingly 
beautiful natural pictures. 

Caribou shooting in the Island is now a favourite 
pastime. The best season is the early autumn before the 
snow comes, but some sportsmen wait until November. 
The caribou migrate during the summer from the south 
of the Island into the wildest northern area, and at the 
end of winter retreat back to the forest's shelter, where 
they remain during the period of snow-fall. In this 
migration they cross the railway track, and some years 
ago local fishermen would camp there and shoot down 
the passing deer; then packed the meat into barrels 
with salt to preserve it for their winter's food. It was no 
uncommon sight from the railroad to observe them at 
this work, with glistening heaps of salt and piles of 
barrels dotting the landscape. 

Realizing that caribou would meet the fate of the 
buffalo if this practice was continued, the Colonial 
Legislature set aside a reserve for the deer, in which no 
shooting is permitted, and this has curtailed the butchery. 
The south coast fishermen also went inland during the 
winter and killed hundreds of caribou, sending the 
carcasses to St. John's, where they often sold for one 
cent per pound ; this practice is also abolished, so that 
now the chase is confined chiefly to genuine hunters, 
who are permitted to kill three stags during the season. 

Some of the best sportsmen journey many miles 
from the railroad into regions rarely penetrated. 
P. C. Selous, the noted African hunter, spent two 
seasons in Newfoundland, and explored new regions on 
his own account, coming upon previously unsuspected 
haunts of the deer where the best of sport was found. 
He says : " I know of but one really wild country whciv 
big game is still plentiful, which can be quickly and 
easily reached, where shooting trips can be undertaken 
at small cost, and that is Newfoundland. The deer aiv 
the finest race of the woodland caribou, nm\ carry 



190 

splendid antlers, worthy of foremost places in any 
sportman's collection of hunting trophies. To my mind 
the way to enjoy a trip there, is to leave the railway and 
make for the interior, with a good canoe and two hardy 
Newfoundlanders and better men you won't find any- 
where in the world and follow up one of the many 
rivers. Soon you will reach as wide a country as any 
on earth, with caribou in abundance, and perhaps a 
black bear, or a wolf 01* lynx ; and should you tire of 
deer meat, there are trout in plenty in the streams and 
ponds, while willow grouse of the most delicate flavor 
fattened on cran-berries and blue-berries, swarm on all 
the barrens. Personally I never enjoyed any hunting 
trip in my life as much as I did my last visit to 
Newfoundland. I found caribou plentiful and secured 
two really tine heads. I got into a wild country where 
the game had long been undisturbed." 

The caribou of Newfoundland are the rangifer or 
woodland (cervus tarandus), distinct from the Arctic, or 
moorland caribou, better known as reindeer. Both are 
of the same species, being sturdy, strongly- built animals, 
the woodland caribou larger, heavier and stronger, and 
carrying finer antlers. Unlike most deer, both male and 
female are thus equipped, the stags carrying splendid 
trophies, but the horns of the doe are inferior. The 
caribou are supposed to be indigenous to Newfoundland, 
for the oldest Beothic relics indicate their existence. 
They are like Alderney cows, with short legs and broad 
feet, enabling them to rapidly and easily traverse the 
snow and wet marshes. They weigh from five hundred 
to seven hundred pounds, stand about 4 ft. 6 in. high, 
and afford excellent sport. The hunting season extends 
from July 15th to February 1st, excepting the first 
twenty days of October, which are barred for the mating 
period. But, except for the meat, the caribou are not 
worth shooting until about September ; 10th to 30th is 
perhaps the finest time, and the weather is fairly pleasant. 
The suspense time in October draws a clear line, and 



191 

from that until the middle of November, most of the 
local hunters (I use the word in its true sense) go out, 
though the weather at the last gets too cold for the 
alien. 

Every visiting hunter must take out a license, 
which costs fifty dollars and allows him to kill three 
stags. These licenses are to be had from any magistrate 
or game warden, and require the licensee to make oath 
that he will not violate or permit the violation of, the 
game laws ; to convey such meat as he may not use into 
some settlement or else bury it ; to prevent his hired 
helpers killing caribou unless they are licensed ; and 
to return his license when it expires with a true endorse- 
ment thereon of the number of caribou killed by him 
and his party. It is forbidden to hunt caribou with dogs 
or any weapons save firearms, or to set traps or snares 
for them. A licensee may take away from the colony 
the antlers, heads and skins of the deer shot under his 
license, on making oath that they are not being exported 
for sale. The Act is framed to afford every facility to 
visiting sportsmen, while at the same time providing 
such safeguards as will prevent abuses in the pursuit of 
this noble pastime by pot-hunters and others. 

The visiting sportsman can secure guides before- 
hand, through the good offices of the Ministry of Marine 
and Fisheries at St. John's, or of the E/eid Newfoundland 
Company. The rate of pay for ordinary guides is $1.50 
to 2.50, for helpers 1 a day. If one is venturing into 
lake regions, a canoe is needed. It can be got for about 
$15, or hired for fifty cents a day, all damages to be 
made good. A tent is necessary in any case, and it is 
best brought along by the visitor, the lighter the better. 
The same applies to a portable cook-stove equipment. 
As to the hunter's outfit, it is difficult to advise, as tastes 
differ so greatly. Some hunters use the rubber boots 
common among the Grand Bank fishermen. Others 
prefer the sealskin boots which the local sealers use at 
the ice fields. Others pin their faith to high goloshes 



192 

because of their warmth. Waterproof footwear of some 
kind is essential, and plenty of heavy woollen socks 
should not he overlooked. These can he obtained in 
the Island, if a guide is engaged beforehand, for the 
village women knit them well. Sleeping bags are 
convenient, as they can be utilized for packing the 
impedimenta. Rubber mattresses or cushions are 
desirable, and spreads of the same serve many useful 
purposes. The guides, where the country permits, will 
soon erect a shack or wigwam of boughs for themselves, 
which not infrequently is more comfortable than a tent, 
as it retains the warmth better. 

" The game laws of Newf oundland are sounder than 
those of any country I have visited," writes Mr. H. 
Hesketh Pritchard in the CornhiH Magazine for 
November, 1909. " They do not permit the guides to 
shoot when accompanying a sportsman, though of course 
at other times each guide has his right, as a citizen, to 
kill three deer. This is an excellent regulation, for 
when the sportsman has shot his three heads he can kill 
no more, and may as well leave the country. In other 
circumstances he might buy from his men their right 
to shoot the three each to which they are entitled, and a 
certain number of sportsmen would undoubtedly 
do so an evasion of the law which could only lead to 
bad results. If Newfoundland would bat add an 
absolute prohibition, under a heavy penalty, of the sale 
or exposure for sale of the trophy of any indigenous wild 
animal, her game laws would be nearly as perfect as one 
can expect such laws to be. Perhaps, however, they 
might be altered in one other point. A 10 license 
permits the foreigner or visiting sportsman to shoot three 
stags. This places the person who goes up to the Howley 
station and in two days shoots that number of prickets 
as the deer cross the line on their migration, on the same 
footing with the man who spends six weeks in the 
interior looking for three fine heads. If the rule 
were a stag for every week spent hunting, the law would 



193 

be more just and fewer stags be unworthily slain. 
Incidentally the country would benefit, as the hunter 
who goes into the interior spends, say, 100 as against 
the ten pound note of the railway sportsman." 

Mr. J. G. Millais, author of "The Mammals of 
Great Britain and Ireland," who hunted in the colony 
several seasons, says : " For its size, Newfoundland to-day 
contains more caribou than any other part of the world, 
and, owing to the nutritive qualities of its excellent 
mosses and lichens, they grow to great excellence. It is 
almost a platitude to say that a fine caribou head of, say, 
thirty-five points, is a trophy worth winning, for it is of 
such size and form that no really good collection is com- 
plete without a couple of good specimens. Big heads are 
just as rare or as frequent as ever they were, and after 
seeing large numbers of stags, I should say that any 
hunter who goes far enough afield and works hard is 
sure to see at least one forty-pointer for a season. In 
1902, I killed stags of thirty-five, forty-five and forty- 
nine points, the two last being splendid specimens. It 
must not, however, be thought that such heads are 
common or easy to get. Though the deer are just as 
plentiful as ever they were, they have grown more 
suspicious and retreated farther into the interior; and 
to see a large number of stags, the hunter must be 
prepared to journey inland by canoe and portage, and 
then have large areas of country entirely to himself." 

It is possible for anybody with the slightest know- 
ledge of wood-craft to kill caribou in Newfoundland by 
his own unaided exertions, but it is preferable to engage 
guides. The stalking of the caribou calls for very little 
wood-lore, and by taking ordinary precautions in the 
matter of clothing, avoiding unnecessary noise, and 
availing of every patch of cover, the antlered monarchs 
may be approached closely enough to be picked off with- 
out risk of losing the quarry. Caribou are still very 
abundant in Newfoundland, and likely to remain so, 
as the whole interior between the railway and the south 



194 

coast, as well as the great northern peninsula, except the 
coast line, are uninhahited, and form safe breeding 
grounds for the great herds of deer which wander at will 
over these vast areas. 

In addition to the shooting of carihou, which can he 
enjoyed in almost any section of the island, the pursuit 
of bears, wolves and lynxes forms a diversion at present 
practised chiefly by the local hunters, though there is 
no reason why visiting sportsmen should not also indulge 
in it. The local hunters add to their income by this 
means, disposing of the pelts to the furriers. Almost 
every fisherman has a trapper's outfit, and lays snares 
and traps in the woods inland from the coast. More 
venturesome trappers winter in the interior, and make 
the fur business a paying one. Moose have recently 
been introduced into the island from New Brunswick, 
and it is believed will thrive well here, but, of course, 
the killing of them is forbidden till they have had an 
opportunity to propagate. 

The country is equally rich in game birds. Around 
the coast are countless sea-pigeons and guillemots, or 
"murs " and " turs" as the residents know them. On 
the fresh water, wild ducks and wild geese are equally 
numerous. The latter is of the Canadian variety and a 
notably fine bird. The black duck is hard to approach, 
but there is no better table bird. But the finest sport 
of all is the ptarmigan shooting in the autumn. These 
birds are locally called " partridge," but they are really 
willow grouse. There is little difference between them 
and the Scotch red grouse. In summer they are brown 
in colour, but with the snow-fall their plumage becomes 
pure white. 

Fowling in one form or other affords satisfying 
sport for the whole year. Geese and ducks arrive 
in thousands early in May and are shot in great 
numbers on their way north to Labrador for the 
summer, by the local fishermen who are adepts with 
fowling-piece or rifle, their proficiency being acquired 



195 

from shooting seals on the ice. Sea-fowl, too, can 
be had every morning and evening in their flights 
about the headlands, and every cottage around the coast 
is supplied with the finest feather beds. Throughout 
the summer, the black duck, sheldrake, widgeon, teal, 
canvasback and other fowl are procurable, and in the 
autumn snipe, as well as partridge, enable sportsmen to 
indulge in this favourite pastime to their full satisfaction. 

The partridge and willow grouse may be shot in 
large quantities at forty different "barrens" within as 
many miles of St. John's, and when the shooting season 
opens in September, every man about the city who can 
procure dog and gun starts for the grounds and usually 
does well. The birds sell in the city for fifty cents a 
brace. Hares or rabbits are shot or snared in the fall and 
winter, and are constantly purchasable for twenty cents a 
couple. The poor of St. John's are thus able to enjoy 
game at low rates, for since the opening of the railway 
the snaring of rabbits has become quite an industry, they 
being shipped in carloads to that city for disposal. 

More than 300 distinct species of birds are found in 
Newfoundland, mostly migratory. Among them are 
the eagle, hawk, owl, woodpecker, swallow, kingfisher, 
six species of flycatchers, a like number of thrushes, 
warblers, finches, ravens and geese. There are no 
snakes, lizards, toads, or any reptiles, poisonous or other- 
wise; and frogs were unknown until recent years, being 
brought in from Nova Scotia. 

Newfoundland offers equal attractions to the angler. 
Salmon, sea-trout and lake-trout abound, and the people 
are keen rod-fishers. The salmon and sea-trout are to 
be found in all the large rivers, though the streams on 
the west coast are considered the best, because they 
have not been so much fished, being less accessible. In 
the spring and early summer, fishing is at its best. 
Salmon, grilse, sea-trout and brook-trout are abundant, 
and there are hundreds of streams inland that have 
never wet a line. 



196 

Fly-fishing is less expensive than hunting. It can 
be got within easy reach of St. John's, and no camp is 
needed, as there are inns near many of the best spots. 
A guide, however, though not absolutely necessary, is 
very desirable. The best salmon fishing is to be had 
directly the salmon start going up the rivers, generally 
about the second week in July. After they are once 
well up the streams, they are far harder to catch, and 
indeed, rarely take the fly fairly and squarely after they 
have reached the upper pools. A good catch however, 
can be depended upon, given favourable weather and no 
east winds, in the middle of July. Grilse, weighing 
from five to six pounds, are even more plentiful and 
afford good sport. Next come the sea-trout. Like the 
salmon, you must follow them up stream, where the 
pools are filled with them, while they are very good 
fighters. An ordinary catch is five to ten dozen, scaling 
from 1 Ib. to 5 Ib. *The brook, or fresh-water trout, 
though smaller, often supply a very good day's diversion. 
They can be got in nearly every pond, and even those 
close to St. John's, although most assiduously fished, 
yield excellent results. In the evenings or early morn- 
ings, scores of enthusiasts are to be seen whipping the 
waters and making good catches. As one goes farther 
afield the sport gets better, and within a radius of twenty 
miles of the town the visitor can, by driving to or from 
the pool or lake, secure such enjoyment as nowhere 
else in America, east of the Rocky Mountains. 

The possibilities of lake-trout fishing have been 
increased by a local sporting club for some years past 
stocking the inland waters with California rainbow 
trout, hatched in a hatchery of their own a work that 
is easily doubling the attractiveness of the Island in this 
respect. Loch Leven trout were introduced some years 
ago and extensively distributed, and the native trout, so 
called, but really a species of char, is amazingly 
abundant. One of the unique features of the holiday 
season in St. John's is that " trouters' trains " are run 



197 

fifty miles along the railway line, and several hundred 
men and boys engage in this pastime and return in 
twenty-four hours with thousands of dozens of fish. 

If the visitor, however, desires to see the country as 
well as to secure ample sport, he cannot do better than 
take the trip across the Island by rail to the western 
shore, where he will find the Codroy and George's rivers 
afford him excellent sport and splendid scenery. The 
four large rivers on the East Coast the Terranova, the 
Garnbo, the Gander and the Exploits are also frequently 
visited by anglers. 

Last year a " Game and Inland Fisheries Board " 
was appointed, composed of twenty representative local 
sportsmen who give their services voluntarily, and to 
whom the administration of the laws respecting these 
subjects is entrusted. A rod tax of $10 was at the same 
time imposed on local anglers, and all the funds there- 
from, as well as from caribou licenses were handed over 
to this Board, to be expended in improving the sporting 
attractions of the Island. This Board has provided for 
efficiently patrolling the moors and rivers, appointed 
game wardens and secured deer reserves, and promises 
to amply justify the expectations which this policy 
inspired. 

Mr. A. EadclyfPe Dugmore, in " Country Life in 
America,'' tells of his experience in Newfoundland. 
His feelings at the critical moment of striking his first 
salmon, are best conveyed in his own words. He says: 

" My fish was not a monster, probably not more 
that fifteen pounds, but he took the tiy on a very long 
cast, and as he made the first frantic jumps, the rushing 
water against the bellying-line proved too much of a 
strain, and the leader parted. Not more than five 
seconds of intense excitement had I experienced, but 
the thrill was beyond all things I have ever known, and 
the sense of loss when the strain so suddenly left the 
rod cannot be conveyed by words. The following 
morning, I cast a Jock Scott on the running w4er at 



198 

the head of the pool. No sooner had the fly sunk an 
inch or so than a fish rose, rather lazily and without 
touching the fly. My heart was throbbing vigorously 
as I cast again and again. I was just about to change 
the Jock Scott for a (Silver Doctor when the water broke 
about the fly, which was well below the surface. A 
glimpse of a dorsal fin, and I felt the line tighten, 
and instantly the reel began to hum as the fish 
run down stream before making its first jump. Over 
the pool we went, the fish tugging and jumping and 
in every way opposing my efforts to bring him to 
still water. * There was no sulking ; when not run- 
ning, he jugged with such force that I doubted 
whether we could ever see each other at close quarters. 
But though a fierce fight, it was not a long one. The 
end came after less than twenty minutes of the keenest 
excitement I have ever felt, and though the fish weighed 
but eight pounds, I must own to a sense of happiness 
that no other sporting experience has ever given me. 
Trout and bass fishing are well enough, but well, we 
don't talk about going trout and bass fishing next year. 
The Newfoundland salmon will suit us perfectly." 



199 



CHAPTER XXV. 
AS A SUBMARINE CABLE CENTRE. 

LAYING OF FIRST ATLANTIC CABLE FIFTY-YEAR 
EXCLUSIVE PRIVILEGE INCOMING OF OTHER CABLES- 
DISPUTE WITH COMMERCIAL CABLE COMPANY. 

JVTEWEOUNDLAND has been for over fifty years 
the half-way house of the pioneer Atlantic cable, 
and has latterly been utilized by all the other English- 
speaking cable companies for the same purpose. The 
story of the Island's part in the launching of the sub- 
marine cable project, is most interesting. About 1850, 
the late Cyrus Eield and Frederick Gisborne were 
planning the extension of the telegraph across the 
ocean, it having been shewn that the electric current 
could be transmitted under water through an effectively 
insulated conductor. In 1854, the Newfoundland Legis- 
lature granted exclusive rights for fifty years to the 
New York, Newfoundland and London Telegraph Com- 
pany (subsequently the well-known Anglo-American 
Telegraph Company), which undertook the construction 
of telegraph "land-lines'* through Nova Scotia to Cape 
Breton, whence a submarine cable of one hundred miles 
was laid to Cape Hay in Newfoundland, and another 
telegraph line constructed along the southern coast of 
this Island from Cape Ray east to St. John's, and 
thence south to Cape llace. Here was obtained from 
passing west-bound liners the latest news of the European 
continent, enclosed in air-tight packages and thrown 
overboard with fiags thereon, these receptacles being 
secured by the news-boat, and taken to the telegraph 



200 

station ashore, whence the messages were transmitted 
to the United States ; while east-bound steamers were 
supplied with despatches in the same way, containing 
the news from the time they left New York until they 
reached Cape Eace, carrying these to the Irish coast, 
where they were landed and sent to their destination in 
like manner. In 1858, the first trans-Atlantic cable was 
laid between Ireland and Newfoundland, but as is well 
known, the electric nerve failed after a few days, and 
eight years elapsed before the successful permanent 
connecting of the two hemispheres was accomplished in 
1866, since when, either half of the world has never 
been without daily information of the events of the 
other, nor is ever likely to be again. 

The success of the submarine cable having thus 
been proved, other electric cables were submerged, and 
in due course competing companies entered the field ; 
and finding the fifty-year monopoly as to Newfoundland 
a serious handicap, attempted to overcome it. The Direct 
United States Cable Company laid a cable across the 
ocean right into Conception Bay in 1875, when it was 
enjoined from landing there by the Newfoundland 
Supreme Court, which injunction was sustained upon 
appeal, by the Imperial Privy Council. This decision 
compelled the other companies to land their cables at 
St. Pierre, Miquelon ; North Sydney, Cape Breton ; 
Canso, Nova Scotia ; and points on the New England 
coast. The "Anglo" monopoly was effective against 
everybody except the Newfoundland Government, 
provision being made, as to this, that the Government 
might establish land-lines itself in parts of the Island 
where the Anglo Company was indisposed to do so ; and 
in 1905, after the Anglo monopoly expired, the New- 
foundland Government arranged with the Commercial 
Cable Company for the Company to lay a cable for the 
Government between Port-aux-Basques, Newfoundland 
and Canso, Nova Scotia, there to connect with the 
" Commercial's " system of cables and land-lines, and 



201 

transfer traffic to and from Newfoundland. This 
contract was for ten years, and it is important to note 
that in the same summer, just before this cable was laid, 
the "Commercial" submerged an Atlantic cable from 
Waterville, Ireland, to Canso, passing the southern 
coast of Newfoundland, for the transmission of its own 
growing volume of business. The " Anglo " had, mean- 
while, four effective working cables across the Atlantic, 
between. Valencia, in Ireland, and Heart's Content, in 
Newfoundland, and the requisite connections for these, 
via Placentia and North Sydney, Cape Breton, giving 
through connections with the "Western Union Telegraph 
Company all over the United States and Canada. 

In .February, 1909, in the height of the political 
deadlock in the colony, within two weeks of the Bond 
Ministry vacating office, and when its resignation was 
in the hands of the Governor, it framed an alleged 
agreement with the " Commercial " Cable Company to 
continue for twenty-five years by which that Company 
was to cut one of its cables on the Grand Banks, land it 
in this colony, and thence extend it to New York ; and 
to transfer over this cable any European cable business 
to or from the colony, and to do the same with the 
colony's western (Canada and America) cable traffic 
when its own cables or landlines might be interrupted, 
the Company to pay the colony $4,000 a year as a 
license for the landing of the cable, and to receive back 
a similar sum for affording these facilities to the colony's 
cable traffic ; the Company, further, to pay $1,000 each 
for any future cables it might land, a cable entering and 
a cable leaving being considered as only one cable, and 
to be taxed at but $4,000, with a maximum tax of 
$20,000 a year, no matter how many cables it might 
land. 

It should be said that in 1904, the Legislature under 
Premier Bond, enacted a law requiring every trans- 
Atlantic Cable Company landing a cable on the shores 
of this Island, to pay a tax of $4,000 for each such, cable, 



202 

with a maximum of $20,000 annually ; and under the 
terms of this Act, the Anglo-American Telegraph 
Company was obliged to pay the sum of $20,000 a year. 
The first effect therefore of the alleged agreement with 
the "Commercial" Company, would he the Company 
securing entry for its initial cable for nothing, as the 
payment by the colony of 4,000 a year for the so-called 
privilege of obtaining transit for its business over that 
cable, would off -set the landing tax of 4,000, while for 
future cables it would gain entry at 4,000 for each 
incoming and outgoing line, while the " Anglo " 
Company was paying twice that amount ; the same 
liability attaching to any other cable companies subse- 
quently entering the colony, for such would be unable 
to make similar terms with the Government of the day, 
because this alleged agreement with the " Commercial " 
bound the Government to transact all its business with 
the world abroad through the (i Commercial" system on 
both sides of the Atlantic. 

This alleged agreement was considered too extreme 
in its scope and unfair to the colony and to other cable 
companies. The Ministry, therefore, on taking office, 
declined to recognize it ; as it contained no provision for 
its ratification by the Legislature, as prescribed by the 
llules of the Assembly and the well-known usage of the 
colony, they contending that a moribund Ministry, with 
its resignation in the Governor's hands, had no power to 
bind the colony for twenty-five years to any such agreement 
without reference to the Legislature. The " Commercial " 
Company protested very strongly against this, but was 
met by the argument that its contract of 1905, for a ten- 
year concession, was ratified by the Legislature ; and in 
due course the Government demanded of the Company 
$16,000 for the year's landing tax, which was refused, 
and suit was thereupon taken in the Supreme Court to 
secure the amount. When this was written a decision 
had not been rendered, and so it is not possible to say 
what the outcome will be; but it may serve here to 



203 

summarize the arguments on both sides, in view of its 
importance from a constitutional, as well as a legal, 
standpoint. 

The Commercial Cable Company contends that it 
made the alleged Agreement in good faith ; that, relying 
thereon, it went to the expense of nearly two million 
dollars to cut its cable on the Grand Banks, extend it to 
Newfoundland, and then submerge a new section to 
New York ; that it would not have made this change and 
incurred this outlay but for the concessions in this 
alleged agreement; and that the incoming Ministry 
departed from British usage in not implementing it. 

The Government replies that the outgoing Ministry, 
in making this alleged agreement, was arrogating to itself 
powers which belonged to the Legislature alone ; that 
the practice of ratifying Ministry contracts was well 
recognised ; that the " Commercial " Company came to 
Newfoundland, not to facilitate the colony, and not for 
the sake of the local traffic, but because of the advan- 
tage to accrue to it from securing a landing place in this 
Island, as the experience of fifty years had determined 
that, in the working of trans-Atlantic cables, the 
shorter the distance from point to point, the greater the 
the speed and efficiency ; and newspaper statements 
by the President of the " Commercial" Company, 
were quoted, wherein he was represented as declaring 
that this terminal facility in Newfoundland would 
increase the efficiency of the cable 35 per cent., it 
being pointed out, moreover, that from the reports of 
the Government's postal telegraph department, inter- 
ruptions in its cable and land-line system during four 
years meant a loss only of 300, or 75 a year, 
and yet this alleged agreement proposed to pay 4,000 a 
year for facilities which, in actual operating, cost the 
colony only 75 a year;- and finally, that negotiations 
were actually in progress by which the Western Union 
Telegraph Company and the Direct United States Cable 
Company were prepared to enter the Island witk their 



204 

cables, and pay the landing tax on the basis of $8,000 
each for a through cable, which negotiations have since 
culminated in the Morris Government effecting contracts 
with these companies on these terms, that were ratified 
in the last Session of the Legislature. 

The trans- Atlantic cables in actual operation to-day 
are as follow : 

Eour u Anglo-American " cables between the 
British Isles and America, via Heart's Content, New- 
foundland. 

Three " Western Union " cables ; one between the 
British Isles and America, via Bay Egberts, Newfound- 
land, and two, via Canso, Nova Scotia, 

One " Direct U.S." cable between the British Isles 
and America, via Harbour Grace, Newfoundland. 

Five " Commercial " cables ; two between the 
British Isles and America, via St. John's, Newfound- 
land ; two, via Canso ; and one, via Horta, Azores. 

Two French cables between Brest and New York, 
via St. Pierre, Miquelon, and one, via Cape Cod. 

The German cables between Borkum and New 
York, via the Azores. 



205 



CHAPTER XXYI. 
CHARACTERISTICS OP THE PEOPLE. 

SAXON AND CELTIC STOCK No ABORIGINES CRIME- 
LESS RECORD OF THE COLONY ADVANCED TEM- 
PERANCE LEGISLATION SOCIAL CONDITIONS. 

THE population is derived entirely from the Saxon 
and Celtic races. Newfoundland, alone, of all 
the overseas possessions of the Empire, has no aboriginal 
peoples and no subject races.' Except for a handful of 
not more than two hundred Micmac Indians, emigrants 
from Novia Scotia, it is occupied entirely by a white, 
English-speaking element, 214,738 of its 220,984 
residents, or 97*5 per cent, of the whole, owning the 
Island as their birthplace ; while those of English birth 
are 1,082, of Scotch, 324, of Irish, 545, and of British- 
Colonial, 2,102, leaving only 2,193 persons in the 
whole colony who cannot claim to have first seen the 
light within the British Empire. In forty years the 
number of natives increased from 90 to 97*5 per cent, 
while in the same period the number of old-time 
settlers from Ireland and the west of England has 
been dwindling, the tide of immigration being stayed, 
for in 1857 these numbered 9*1 per cent, and now 
represent only '7 per cent. 

The people being thus entirely of British stock 
and the Saxon and Celtic races being mingled here 
as perhaps nowhere else, the product has been a 
people with all the energy, courage and self-reliance 
of the Saxon, coupled with the brilliancy and daring 



206 

of the Celt, so that they are equally at home in facing 
the hazards of the ocean's surges, the risks and perils 
of the ore-mine, and in more recent times the log-drive. 
They have developed an adaptability, growing out of 
necessity; a readiness in all handicrafts which is the 
wonder of those who come in contact with them, 
and which has arisen through their having to practise 
every trade and occupation in the small settlements 
that are their homes. Their intellectual development 
has received special attention ; and they are proving 
themselves, in outside universities, in business centres 
in the world abroad, and in the commercial progress 
of their country at home, to be able to use their en- 
dowments in these respects in a manner to bring no 
discredit on themselves or the land of their birth. 

The country is absolutely crimeless, law-abiding, 
moral and temperate. Serious crime is practically 
unknown. During the past decade, among these quarter 
million people there has not been a murder or a serious 
affray. The Colonial Penitentiary is often scarcely 
occupied, so few are the offenders. For the past 
eighteen months the Supreme Court at St. John's has 
had but one important case on its criminal docket, and 
the magistrates around the coasts are rarely required to 
deal with other than civil suits. The Island is, perhaps, 
the most temperate portion of the world, as, except in 
St. John's, " local option " applies everywhere ; a 
measure which allows the people of each township to 
decide, by a majority vote, in a plebiscite, to prohibit 
the sale of liquors herein ; and even in St. John's, the 
sale of intoxicants is now restricted to the hours between 
9 a.m. and 6 p.m. on week days and absolutely prohibited 
on Sundays. The moral character of the people is very 
high, and their kindness and hospitality are proverbial. 
As church-goers they are probably unexcelled, but while 
devotedly attached to their different religious persuasions, 
their toleration is remarkable, and is perhaps best 
evidenced by the fact that, following Canada's example, 



207 

the colony at the last general election, though the 
electorate is two-thirds Protestant, returned a Roman 
Catholic as Prime Minister. Charity and consideration 
for those in distress are notable characteristics of all 
classes. Collections for every deserving object are 
liberally recognized. The care of the poor is made a 
special matter, and clergymen and physicians, like 
Dr. Grenfell, testify to the manner in which, in seasons 
of adversity, the fishermen in a settlement will help 
each other even to sharing their last morsel with those 
more destitute than themselves. Among none is more 
generous liberality shown to sufferers by calamity or 
misfortune, and nowhere is the life of the people in its 
every respect more commendable. 

With the extension of the facilities for inter-com- 
munication in recent years, the connecting of remote 
regions by the railway, and the advantages for travel 
provided by the steamship service, the spread of 
education, and the increase in the number of clergymen, 
the social life of the people has shown a marked improve- 
ment. To their material welfare the more assured 
financial status of all classes, as a result of continued 
good fisheries, high prices and new and diversified 
industries, have contributed materially; and the result 
has been, that the disadvantages of isolation are being 
counteracted ; the newspaper, the telegraph and more 
recently the telephone, have been playing their parts in 
assisting in this result, and the material and social status 
of the people in even the smallest hamlets is being 
greatly improved. Taken all in all, the fishermen of 
Newfoundland for they constitute the great mass of 
the population compare favorably as to their condition 
with the working classes of other countries. To com- 
pensate them for the privations and hardships they 
endure, they enjoy an open-air life, robust health, 
capacity for simple pleasures, and genuine happiness in 
material respects. They live practically untaxed, and in 
this probably stand distinct from any other English- 



203 

speaking people. They own their own homesteads, and 
pay fee to no landlord ; if they desire more land for 
cultivation, they can acquire it practically free of cost ; 
they can obtain water from every stream, firewood 
from every thicket, and the material to huild their 
homes, their vessels and their fishing stations, from the 
forests of the "hack-lands." The indispensable neces- 
saries of life to them. foodstuffs, fishing gear, farming 
implements and mining requisites are admitted to 
the colony free of duty ; there are no municipal, 
district or other rates to be paid ; the Colonial Govern- 
ment, through the taxes it collects on the imports of 
luxuries, and of necessaries not regarded as indis- 
pensable, obtains the revenue to meet the cost of 
carrying on every branch of the public service ; and 
much of the monies appropriated for the various depart- 
ments, returns directly to the people through the 
disbursements for roads, wharves and similar public 
works in the several districts ; and, as already stated, 
the schools are maintained by the sums voted by the 
general Government. 

Picturesque and comfortable are the homes of the 
Newfoundland fisherfolk ; and every village has its 
churches, schools and lodges of the benevolent organi- 
zations which are founded among them. There are 
to be seen in some places the old-time houses with 
large open fire-places, dog-irons and the other ac- 
cessories of a vanished period, while curiosities, in the 
shape of old furniture, old silver and other articles 
of this kind, are often to be secured. No matter how 
small the village, the traveller can always rest assured 
of a hospitable reception, and of the best accommoda- 
tion that the place can afford; and the settlers think 
no trouble too great to undertake for a visitor. 

In no respect are the Newfoundlanders more re- 
markable than in their strict Sabbatarianism. They 
will not, under any circumstances, engage in fishing 
or other work on Sundays ; and even in the seal hunt, 




Salmon Two Beauties, 




Photo. 



Salmon 20 and 23 Ibs. 



209 

when a change of wind may disperse the herds and make 
it impossible for them to make a successful catch, they 
adhere to their principles so firmly, that some years ago 
the Colonial Legislature was deluged with petitions, and 
had to enact a law to prohibit the killing of seals on 
Sundays ; because one or two captains, of a " viking " 
spirit, persisted in enforcing this practice against the 
conscientious convictions of their crews, and the latter 
and their fellows in the other ships, resented this strongly. 
Now the killing of seals is prohibited absolutely on 
Sundays, and 4,000 men cease from this work on a 
Saturday night, and, regardless of the weather condi- 
tions, refrain from it until Monday morning. One of 
the principal issues before the Hague Tribunal in the 
International arbitration last year arose out of this very 
matter, the enforcement against Americans by the local 
authorities of the Newfoundland law, forbidding all 
forms of fishing on Sundays. Indeed, thirty years ago, 
the settlers in one harbour forcibly resisted Americans 
undertaking to fish on the Sabbath, and provoked an 
International complication which cost the British 
Government $75,000 to adjust, as the Americans claimed 
damages for the unauthorised interference with their 
work. 

The fisherf oik are a physically splendid race of men, 
whose daily occupations bring out the finest qualities. 
Children learn to sail boats at six or seven years old. 
These fishermen know their boats as well as a jockey 
knows his horse ; and all skiffs are tested for their work 
before they are put into actual daily service; and if there 
is reason to fear that they will fail in an extremity, they 
are run ashore and left to rot, because there are times 
in the life of every fisherman when only the proved 
stability of his craft will save him from destruction. 

The men are keen with the rifle and shot-gun. 
They hunt their own game in the forests as they shoot 
seals in the ocean ; and there is rarely a farmhouse round 
the seaboard lacking trophies of caribou heads or 



210 

of fur-bearing animals, in which besides, there is a large 
trade done in the Island. Formerly there were thousands 
living along the remoter sections of the coast who rarely 
had any intercourse with the outside world, and to whom 
the ordinary everyday conveniences of more advanced 
civilization, such as the street car and the electric light, 
were little short of marvellous ; but they are becoming 
more familiar with these conditions, and consequently 
more ready to recognize the advantages which will flow 
to the Island itself from the exteosion of the railroad 
system, steam boats and other utilities. 



211 



CHAPTER XXVII. 
GOVERNMENTAL. 

PORM OF GOVERNMENT LEGISLATURE POWERS OF 

ITS CONSTITUENT FACTORS ADMINISTRATIVE 

DEPARTMENTS. 

UNTIL 1832, the Island was ruled solely by the 
Governor, instructed from time to time by the 
Imperial authorities. In that year Representative 
Government was granted, a limited form of autonomy 
with a Legislature to which, however, the Governor and 
his Executive Council were not responsible. In 1855, 
the more extensive autonomous authority, known as 
Responsible Government, was conceded. Newfound- 
land now possesses this as amply as does Canada, 
Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, which are 
now officially styled the over-seas " Dominions." New- 
foundland is the only colony besides these larger 
appanages which is in that category, for she declines to 
unite with Canada, preferring to remain independent. 
The over-sea possessions, peopled largely by colored races, 
governed without autonomy and formerly known as 
" Crown Colonies," are now termed " Colonies," while 
the autonomous possessions are distinguished as 
" Dominions." 

In Newfoundland the Government consists of three 
estates the Governor, the representative of the 
Sovereign, appointed by the Crown and usually one who 
has filled various posts in Crown Colonies ; the 



212 

lative Council, consisting of 21 members, holding office 
for life, vacancies being filled by the Ministry of the 
day ; and the House of Assembly of 36 members, elected 
four years by the votes of the people. Manhood suffrage 
and secret ballot prevail. The administration is 
modelled on that of the Mother Country. Erom the 
dominant party in the House of Assembly a Ministry or 
Executive Council is formed, consisting of nine mem- 
bers, and this body controls affairs, subject of course, 
to its continuing to retain the support of a majority in 
the elective chamber. In the Legislature is vested, 
collectively, the power of making laws ; jurisdiction 
over public debt and property ; taxation of civil powers ; 
the raising of loans upon the colony's credit ; and the 
conducting of all the public services. The right of the 
Assembly or elective House to originate money bills is 
fully recognized, and the Upper Chamber never inter- 
feres with such enactments. 

The administrative power is vested in the Governor 
and his advisers, the Ministry or Executive Council now 
consisting of : 

Hon. Sir Edward P. Morris, Kt., P.C., K.C., LL.D., 

Prime Minister. 

Hon. D. Morison, K.C., Minister of Justice. 
Hon. Robert Watson, Colonial Secretary. 
Hon. Michael P. Cashin, Minister of Finance and 

Customs. 
Hon. Sydney D. Blandford, Minister of Agriculture 

and Mines. 

Hon. Charles H. Emerson, K.C., \ 
Hon. Robert K. Bishop, Without 

Hon. John C. Crosbie, [ Portfolio. 

Hon. Michael P. Gibbs, ) 

Departmental Officers not in Council : 

William Woodford, Minister of Public Works. 
Archibald W. Piccott, Minister of Marine and 
Fisheries. 



213 



The Legislative Council is at 

Hon. Sir E. D. Shea, Kt., 

President. 

James McLoughlan 
James Angel 
,, John Harris 
Dr. George Skelton 
George Knowling 
Daniel J. Greene, 

K.C. 

James Baird 
Edgar R. Bowring 
,, John B. Ayre 



present composed of : 

Hon. James S. Pitts, C.M.G. 
R. K. Bishop 
J. D. Ryan 
,, J. Anderson 
J. Harvey 
S. Milley 
M. P. Gibbs 
Wm. Carson Job 
John Alex. Robinson 
Marmaduke Geo. 

Winter 
One vacancy 



The House of Assembly, alphabetically arranged, 
and giving the name of the District for which each 
Member is returned, is as follows : 



Bennett, J. R., 

Blandford, Hon. S. D., 

Bond, Rt. Hon. Sir R., P.C., 

Cashin, Hon. M.P., 

Clapp, W. M., 

Clitt, J. A., K.C., 

Crosbie, Hon., J.C., 

*Davey, E. H., 

Devereux, R. J., 

Downey, J. P., 

Dwyer, J., 

Earle, H. J., 

Emerson, Hon. C. H., K.C., 

Gear, H., 

Goodison, J. R., 

Grant, E. G., 

Howley, W. R., 

Kennedy, M. J., 

Kent, J. M., B.A., K.C., 

Moore, P. P., 

Morison, Hon. D., K.C., 



St. John's, West. 

Bonavista. 

Twillingate. 

Perry land. 

St. Barbe. 

Twillingate. 

Bay-de-Verde. 

Burin. 

Placentia and St. Mary's. 

St. George's. 

St. John's, East. 

Pogo. 

Portune. 

Burin. 

Carbonear. 

Trinity. 

Placentia and St. Mary's. 

St. John's, West. 

St. John's, East. 

Perryland. 

Bonavista. 



214 

Morris, Hon. Sir E. P., Kt., St. John's, West. 

Morris, E. J., K.C., Placentia and St. Mary's. 

Moulton, B.., Burgeo and La Poile. 

Murphy, J. J., Harbour Main. 

Parsons, E., Harbour Grace. 

Piccott, A. W., Harbour Grace. 

Roberts, Geo., Twillingate. 

Seymour, A. H., Harbour Grace. 

Shea, G., St. John's, East. 

Squires, R. A., Trinity. 
Warren, W. R. (Speaker), Port-de- Grave. 

Watson, Hon. R., Trinity. 

Winsor, W. C., Bonavista. 

White way, J., Bay-de-Verde. 

Woodford, W., Harbour Main. 

* Died March 10th, 1911. 

The 18 electoral districts which send these 36 
Members to the House of Assembly, are as follows : 

Bay-de-Verde ... ... ... ... 2 Members. 

Bonavista ... ... ... ... 3 

Burgeo and La Poile ... ... ... 1 

Burin ... ... ... ... ... 2 

Carbonear ... ... ... ... 1 

Eerryland ... 2 

Eogo 1 

Eortune Bay ... ... ... ... 1 

Harbour Grace 3 

Harbour Main ... ... ,..2 

Placentia and St. Mary's ... ... 3 

Port-de-Grave ... 1 

St. Barbe 1 

St. George's 1 

St. John y s, East 3 

St. John's, West 3 

Trinity 3 

Twillingate 

Total , 36 



215 

Party lines are not strictly drawn in the Legislative 
Council, and its Members, speaking generally, do not 
admit any political affiliations. In the House of Assem- 
bly the Government or " People's Party " as it is 
politically known holds 26 seats, and the Opposition, 
or " Liberal " party, 9 seats. One is vacant by the 
death of the sitting member, in March of this year, who 
was also a Liberal. 

POWERS OF THE GOVERNOR. 

The Governor, who is also Commander-in- Chief in 
and over the colony and its dependencies, has the power, 
in the King's name, to commute the sentences of courts 
of justice ; to summon, open, prorogue; and, on occasions, 
dissolve the local Parliament ; to give or withhold assent 
to, or reserve for the Royal consideration, all bills which 
have passed both Chambers. His salary is 810,000 and 
travelling allowance of $1,000 per year, with permanent 
residence and other perquisites, are provided by the 
colony. 

THE LEGISLATURE. 

The Legislature must meet once a year, and is 
usually summoned "for the despatch of business" in 
the month of February. Either House may originate 
measures, except money bills, and these must originate 
in the popular chamber on the initiation of the 
Ministers, and the recommendation of the Governor, 
proposals contemplating increases not being allowable 
even there, unless accepted by the Government. The 
sessions usually occupy two or three months. 

The President of the Legislative Council is paid 
$240 per year as such, and each member of that branch 
receives $120 a year as a sessional indemnity. The 
Speaker of the House of Assembly is paid 750 a year, 
and each member receives $200, while those who reside 
outside of St. John's are allowed an additional $100 
towards meeting their expenses while attending the 
sessions. 



216 

The Leader of the Government, formerly known as 
the Premier, but since the more formal recognition 
of the " Dominions," as the Prime Minister, receives no 
pay for this post, though he may take one of the six 
portfolios with it. These Departmental offices Ministry 
of Justice, Colonial Secretaryship, Ministry of Finance 
and Customs, Ministry of Agriculture and Mines, 
Ministry of Public Works, and Ministry of Marine and 
Fisheries carry salaries of 2,000 each, and the holders 
must occupy seats in one or other branch of the Legisla- 
ture, usually in the popular branch, 

The Department of the Prime Minister is entrusted 
with the direction of what may be called the foreign 
affairs of the colony, including the international fishery 
disputes with which it is concerned; the effecting of 
trade connections with foreign countries ; and the 
development of new industries at home ; besides which 
the Prime Minister exercises a general supervision over 
the affairs of the other Departments of the public 
service. The present Prime Minister, Sir Edward Morris, 
is the first who has occupied this post without any 
salaried office attached to it, and given his whole time to 
its steadily increasing volume of work. Indeed he has 
virtually created the post and shewn the possibilities it 
comprehended for promoting the material interests of 
the colony and its people. His predecessor, Sir Robert 
Bond, held the Colonial Secretaryship with the Premier- 
ship ; and Sir James Winter and Sir William White way, 
who preceded them, each held the Attorney -General ship. 

The Department of Justice administers all matters 
relating to the Supreme and subordinate courts ; the 
magistracy and peace commission ; the constabulary and 
Prison Bureau ; civil and criminal prosecution s ; and the 
legal work of the public service. The Supreme Court 
consists of three Judges, a Chief Justice at $5,000 a year, 
and two assistant Justices at $4,000, with a High 
Sheriff for the Island, and a Duputy in St. John's, 
and sub-sheriffs in the principal post-towns. There 



217 

is a District Court in St. John's, with a judge at 
2,400, and one at Harbour Grace at $1,200. Thirty 
magistrates have jurisdiction in lesser matters in as 
many districts all over the Island. The constabulary is 
a colonial force, modelled on the Royal Irish, and is 
officered by an Insy)ector - General at $2,000, and a 
Superintendent at 81,200 in St. John's ; a District 
Inspector at Harbour Grace and another at Bay ot" 
Islands, and non-commissioned officers and men, making 
up a total of 103 in all, half being stationed at St. John's 
and available for emergency duty, and the rest being in 
ones and twos in the principal towns. Besides these, 
there are 20 local constables in as many places, avail- 
able for temporary duty. The policemen perform a 
multiplicity of duties, like the famous Canadian 
Mounted Police. Associated with the constabulary is 
the Fire Department of St. John's, towards the upkeep 
of which the city contributes $12,000 annually ; the 
control and working of the force however, being entirely 
in the hands of the constabulary, the combination being 
found to work most effectively. This force consists of 
a chief, three assistants and 24 fire constables ; the 
members of the Police Department being also available 
as assistants when required. The Prison Department 
consists of a Penitentiary at St. John's, to which are 
transferred long-sentence offenders from all parts of the 
Island, as well as the casual offenders in the city of 
St. John's, while jails for misdemeanants are 
established in the various district towns. 

The Department of the Colonial Secretary has 
jurisdiction over the Registration of Vital Statistics; 
the Registration of Companies ; the Inspection of 
Weights and Measures ; and the Copyright, Patent and 
Trade-Marks Laws. This Department likewise directs 
the sub-Department of Public Charities, which embraces 
the relief of the poor all over the Island ; the adminis- 
tration of the Lunatic Asylum, Poor Asylum, General 
Hospital and Fever Hospital at St. John's ; general 



218 

health protection matters and supervision of the Medical, 
Dental and Pharmaceutical Boards, which regulate the 
practice of these professions throughout the colony. 

The Postmaster-General, being a permanent 
official, and not having a seat in either branch of 
the Legislature, the Colonial Secretary is the Parlia- 
mentary head of the Postal and Telegraph Departments 
as well. These embrace the working of the Post-Office 
system, the operation of the inland telegraphs, and the 
direction of the bay, coast and ocean- steam services, 
railways, couriers, etc. There are 620 post-offices in 
as many hamlets, besides those on the trains and 
mail boats ; and 420 courier routes, as well as 66 post- 
offices in Labrador; and the Telegraph Department 
comprehends the maintenance of 2,500 miles of telegraph 
line and nearly 200 offices. The postal rate for local 
letters, for those within the British Empire, and for 
those to and from the United States is two cents an ounce ; 
elsewhere the rate is 5 cents; while there are also 
parcel posts maintained with Canada, United States 
and Great Britain, and, through the latter, with countries 
having a parcel post with the United Kingdom. The 
parcel post rate to Canada is 12 cents per pound, with 
a maximum weight of 11 pounds. The same rate 
applies to the United States. To Great Britain the 
rate is 24 cents for parcels not exceeding 3 pounds, this 
being the minimum ; for parcels 3 to 7 pounds, 48 cents ; 
parcels 7 to 11 pounds, 72 cents. Eor other foreign 
countries, the foregoing rate plus the rate between 
Britain and such countries. The administration of 
Educational affairs is also under the department of the 
Colonial Secretary. The subject of Education is treated 
in another chapter. 

The Department of Finance and Customs has control 
over all matters relating to the public debt; and the 
administration of, redemption of and payment of 
interest thereon. It has also charge of the collection 
of customs and excise duties ; the enforcement of the 



219 

revenue and preventive laws ; the compilation of 
statistics of the annual trade and commerce of the colony; 
administration of bank fishermen's insurance ; collection 
of light dues ; survey of coast- wise passenger ships and 
Labrador fishing vessels ; and to the duties of the 
Department has been added, by legislation of the last 
Session, the administration of the Old Age Pension Fund, 
newly created. 

The Department of Agriculture and Mines has 
control of the Crown Lands of the colony ; the adminis- 
tration of the laws relating to mining, quarrying, 
lumbering, pulp and paper making, and, by recent 
enactments, the development of the agricultural resources 
of the colony by means of an Agricultural Board is also 
placed within the purview of this Department. 

The Department of Public Works has to do with the 
maintenance and upkeep of public buildings and other 
institutions. The administration of the roads, bridges 
and ferries throughout the Island also comes within its 
province, as well as, through the Government Engineer, 
the supervision of railway construction and similar 
undertakings. 

The Department of Marine and Fisheries is devoted 
to the maintenance and operation of the lighthouses, fog 
alarms and other coast aids, breakwaters and wharves ; 
preservation and encouragement of the fisheries ; 
enforcement of the bait, lobster and other fishery laws ; 
carrying out of the meteorological service ; examination 
of masters and mates and marine engineers ; inspection 
of boilers and machinery, and the examination of 
persons employed in connection therewith ; as well as 
dredging, cold storage, and vessel inspection for bounty 
on ships built ; while it also, through the Game and 
Inland Fisheries Board, enforces the hunting and game 
fishing laws. 

SUPREME COURT. 

The Supreme Court was instituted in 1826 by the 
promulgation of a Royal Charter. To it and to the 



220 

magistrates is entrusted the correct interpretation and 
proper enforcement of the laws. It is in session all the 
year at St. John's, except during the " Long Vacation" 
July, August and September when each judge 
remains in the Capital for a month to deal with matters 
which may be disposable "in Chambers"; another 
conducts a circuit around the Island at such times and 
places as may be fixed by the Governor, and the third 
enjoys the resulting triennial holiday. 

COURT OF LABRADOR. 

The Court of Labrador has civil and criminal 
jurisdiction over such parts of Labrador as lie within 
the jurisdiction of Newfoundland. It is presided over 
by a Judge who is nominated by the Governor-in- 
Council. 

CENTRAL DISTRICT COURT. 

The Central District Court is a Court of Record held 
in St. John's for the said District, for the adjudication 
of civil causes, and sits whenever business requires. 
The Judge of this Court is also the police magistrate for 
the town. There is also a District Court in Harbour 
Grace with jurisdiction over the electoral district of 
Conception Bay, presided over by a judge with similar 
powers. 

QUARTER SESSIONS. 

Courts of general and quarter sessions may be held 
in the Island, in such places as determined by the pro- 
clamation of the Governor. They are presided over by 
the stipendiary magistrates or justices of the peace. 

LAW SOCIETY. 

" The Law Society of Newfoundland " is constituted 
by Statute and is under the inspection of the Judges of 
the Supreme Court for the time being. No person is 
admitted to practice as an attorney by the Supreme 
Court unless upon actual service of five years with some 



221 

practising attorney of the Island ; or if a regular 
graduate of any college of His Majesty's Dominions of 
four years ; or who, having been entered on the hooks 
of " The Law Society " as a Student-at-Law, shall have 
been subsequently called to the Bar in England, Scotland 
or Ireland, or any of the Colonies, upon producing 
evidence thereof, and undergoing a satisfactory examina- 
tion, may be called by "The Law Society" to the 
Degree of Barrister. Recently the Act was amended to 
allow women to study for, and be admitted to the Bar on 
the same terms as men. 






222 

CHAPTER XXVIII. 
POPULATION AND TRADE. 

POPULATION RELIGIONS OCCUPATIONS TRADE AND 

INDUSTRIES. 

The first estimate of the resident population of New- 
foundland was made in 3654, shewing that about 350 
families were scattered around its sea-board in various 
harbours, which, allowing five to a family, would mean a 
total of 1,750 persons. In 1680, the naval commanders 
policing the fisheries, collected statistics shewing the 
residents to be 2,280, while the west of England 
merchants carrying on the fisheries, had that year 4,000 
men temporarily there, all of whom returned to England 
in the autumn. The following table shews the resident 
population in the years named : 

Year. Population. 

1654 1,750 

1680 2,280 

1698 2,640 

1763 7,000 

1780 8,000 

1785 10,000 

1804 20,380 

1825 55,719 

1827 59,571 

1832 60,000 

1836 75,094 

1845 98,703 

1857 124,288 (Labrador included). 

1869 146,536 

1874 161,374 

1884 ... 197,589 



223 

Year. Population. 

1891 202,040 (Labrador included). 

1901 220,984 

1911 (Estimated) 240,000 

Erom 1874 to 1884, the increase in population was 
36,209, or at the rate of 22'4 per cent in ten years ; 
while from 1884 to 1891, the increase was only 4,705, or 
at the rate of 3 '40 per cent, in ten years. This falling 
off was caused by emigration to Canada and the United 
States, owing to failing fisheries, but in the 'nineties this 
outflow was arrested somewhat, and the increase for the 
decade 1891-1901, was 18,944, or at the rate of 9'37 per 
cent. In 1891, a record of vital statistics was inaugurated, 
and shewed that for the decade there were 66,954 births 
35,505 deaths, and the excess of 31,449 births would be 
the natural growth of the population, which, by these 
figures would have totalled 233,489 in the ten years, 
being an increase of 15'5 per cent for that period ; but 
the population numbered only 220,984, and as 
immigration was practically nil, the shortage of 12,505 
must be regarded as the number emigrating during the 
period. The decade respecting which an enumeration 
will be made this autumn, is expected to shew a some- 
what better result than the last, because the enhanced 
prosperity of the people, and the greater number of 
industries existing in the colony have helped to retain 
them at home. 

It was not until 1845, that the different religious 
denominations were distinguished in the Census returns. 
The following table shews the respective numbers of 
the Protestants and Roman Catholics in the years 
named, according to the Census returns : 



YEAR. PROTESTANTS. ROMAN CATHOLICS. 

1845 49,505 ... . W.988 

1857 67,743 

1868 ... ... 85,496 

1874 97,057 

1884 ... ... 122,259 

1891 (Labrador inc.) 127,947 

1901 144,995 



1911 Estimated 160,000 



57,214 
61,040 
65,317 
75,330 
72,696 



80,000 



224 



Subdivided, the denominational exhibit is : 



Year. 


E.G. 


C.E. 


Meth. 


Pres. 


Cong. 




S. Army 


1845 ... 


46,983 


.. 34,298 


... 14,239 . 


478 


539 







1857 ... 


57,214 


.. 44,285 


... 20,229 


838 


347 







1868 ... 


61,040 


.. 55,184 


... 28,990 


974 


338 







1874 ... 


65,317 


.. 59561 


... 35,702 


. 1,168 


461 







1884 ... 


75,330 


.. 69,626 


... 48,943 


. 1,478 


768 







1891 ... 


72,696 


.. 69,824 


... 53,276 


. 1,449 


782 




2,092 


1901 ... 


75 989 


.. 73,908 


... 61,368 


. 1,497 


954 




6,594 



In 1845, the number professing other creeds was un- 
known ; in 1857 there were 44 Baptists and others ; in 
1869 there were 10 Baptists ; in 1874 there were 165 
Baptists and others ; in 1884 there were 65 Baptists and 
others ; in 1891 there were 487 of the Reformed Church 
of England, 37 Baptists and others ; and 1,397 Moravians 
on Labrador; and in 1901 there were 174 Baptists and 
others, and 1,377 Moravians on Labrador. 

The number of churches in 1901 was as follows : 

Church of England 174 

Church of Home 1 51 

Methodists ... 155 

Other Denominations ... ... 49 

The ecclesiastical exhibit was : 

Church of England 1 Bishop and 70 clergymen. 

Church of Rome 1 Archbishop, 2 Bishops, 65 
Priests, 4 communities of Christian Brothers ; 
12 convents. 

Methodist 80 clergymen. 

Salvation Army 124 officers, besides 64 out- 
posts attached to corps and worked by officers. 

The following are a few more figures of interest 
which appear in the Census of 1901. In the twelve 
months preceding the Census year, there were 7,914 
births ; 3,291 deaths ; 1,244 marriages. The number 
of males who could read was 57,079 ; of females who 
could read, 58,857 ; of males who could write, 59,260 ; 
of females who could write, 48,823. There were 36,936 
married males; and 37,007 married females; 3,376 




The Cabot Tower, St. John's. 



225 

widowers ; and 6,849 widows. There were 39,419 
inhabited houses. 

The Census returns as to occupations show : 

1891. 1901. 

Clergymen 186 ... i>|:'> 

Teachers 606 ... 789 

Lawyers and Doctors . . . 105 ... 138 

Merchants and Traders ... 771 ... 1,040 

Office or Shop Hands . . . 1,952 . . . 2,353 

Government Service ... 614 ... 739 
Catching and Curing Fish 

Males ... 36,694 ... 41,231 

Females 18,081 ... 21,443 

farmers 1,547 ... 2,475 

Fishers and others who culti- 
vate land 36,303 ... 40,438 

Mechanics 2,682 ... 3,111 

Lumberers 625 . . 1,408 

Miners 1,258 ... 1,576 

Factory Hands 1,058 ... 1,626 

Otherwise employed 8,686 ... 11,639 

While only 2,475 persons are put down as farmers 
(an increase of about 50 per. cent, over any previous 
Census) it will be seen that there are over 40,000 fisher- 
men and others who cultivate land, more or less, in 
addition to their usual occupation. 

The trade figures shew that during the past twenty 
years, there has been steady and substantial improvement 
in the colony's imports and exports ; conditions partly 
due to better prices for the fishery products, the 
development of the mines, forests and farmsteads, and 
the enlarged opportunities for labour created for the 
people through the railroad affording them a means of 
reaching the neighbouring provinces daily, where they 
can secure work in the smelters and other industries 

A noteworthy condition however, of this increased 
prosperity is that the benefit has accrued entirely to the 



226 

United States and Canada. Britain has enjoyed none of 
it; on the contrary, she has suffered an actual loss in trade, 
and the rest of the world has gained very little. The 
colony's imports from Britain in 1890 were ahout 
$2,500,000, and in 1910 were only ahout the same 
figure. In other words, while British exports were 84 per 
cent, of the total twenty years ago, they formed hut 
22 per cent, of the total last year, an actual decline of 
12 per cent., so that not alone has Britain not been ahle 
to retain her share of increased purchasing power of 
the people of Newfoundland, but she is actually selling 
them 110 more to-day than she did twenty years ago. 

Nor has Canada's position in this trade struggle 
improved to the extent that might be supposed, seeing 
the proximity of the Dominion to Newfoundland, the 
fact that they are under the same flag and are fellow- 
British colonies, and that most of the railroad and 
steamboat agencies operating with the outside world, 
have their connections in Canadian territory. New- 
foundland's trade with Canada has undoubtedly grown 
very substantially in the past twenty years, but the trade 
of the United States with Newfoundland has grown to 
a still larger extent. The imports from the United States 
have shewn the greatest increase, the percentage lost to 
Britain having been gained almost entirely by America, 
for whereas these represented only 22 per cent, in 1890, 
they reached 32 per cent, in 1910, Canada's imports 
amounting to 22 per cent, in the former year and 
30 per cent, in the latter. 

With regard to this colony's imports, it might be 
stated that Newfoundland procures from abroad almost 
everything her people require for every purpose 
except lumber and a certain amount of agricultural 
produce and of these imports about 90 per cent, 
altogether come from Britain, Canada and America, 
Britain's share in round figures being about $2,500,000 ; 
Canada's share $4,000,000, and America's share about 
the same. From the rest of the world the colony now 



227 

imports some $700,000 worth as against $500,000 worth 
twenty years ago, of which total nearly $300,000 is 
represented hy molasses and sugar from the West Indies 
100,000 hy wines and spirits from various countries, 
$120,000 hy salt (for curing fish), from Italy and Portu- 
gal ; and the remainder hy various minor products from 
different parts of the world. 

During the past twenty years Canada and America 
have heen striving strenuously for the supremacy in 
their sales of commodities to Newfoundland, and it i^ 
unlikely that the existing conditions will ho materially 
altered in the near future. Newfoundland, curiously 
enough, is Canada's fifth hest customer, huying from 
her (after disregarding Canada's enormous trade with 
Great Britain and the United States) almost as much as 
the whole West Indies, or as the whole of South 
America, and more than Australia, Belgium, France % 
Germany, Holland, China, Japan or Italy purclia 
from the Dominion, Newfoundland's $4,000,000 worth 
of purchases annually are not, of course, of anything 
like as much concern to the United States, hut never- 
theless American dealers trading with Newfoundland 
are in no way desirous of seeing this trade lessened. 

In analyzing Newfoundland's imports it will be 
seen, that of natural products and articles which 
represent little labour in their production, including 
animals and their products (butter, cheese and eggs), 
vegetables and fruits; flour and meals; fresh and 
salted meats, hay, oats and cattle feed; lumber and 
woods; tobacco and coal ; the imports from Canada and 
the United States in these commodities total each some- 
what over $2,000,000 a year, thus reducing the total ^of 
''manufactured products "imported from these countries 
to about $2,000,000 each per annum. Therefore, as the 
imports from Britain are almost entirely of manufactu 
goods, it is evident that, excluding " natural product 
British imports total over 40 per cent, of the whole of 
the former class, while Canadian and American imp( 



228 

do not exceed 32 per cent, each ; and, consequently, so 
far as the British manufacturer is concerned, the 
situation is not so unfavourable as would appear at first 
sight. 

The latest Table of returns of local manufactures 
was compiled by Sir WiJliam MacGregor for the year 
1906, and shews as follows : 

Aerated Waters, 55,428 dozens valued at ... $24,740 

Bed Furnishings 18,000 

Furniture ... 12,775 

Leather 36,052 sides ; 3,814 skins 131,710 

Nails 281 tons 19,200 

Clothing 113,945 pieces 206,500 

Eope, Twine, Nets and Lines 308,000 

Soap and Candles 21,000 boxes 50,240 

Boots and Shoes pairs, 167,320 299,315 

Waterproofs 47,790 pieces 41,000 

Tobacco 324,766 Ibs. ; Cigarettes 807,000. . . 86,029 

Biscuits and Ship's Bread 8,025,000 Ibs. ... 346,352 

Confectionery 535,000 Ibs - ... 64,200 

Jams 26,000 Ibs 2,000 

Fruit Syrups 3,000 dozen 5,500 



The above items amount to a total production 

from Local Manufactures of ... $1,615,56 L 



During the past five years there has been con- 
siderable enlargement in the output in these directions, 
besides which other local industries have been established, 
and there are still further possibilities in the way of 
both. The output of all these factories is most excellent 
in quality, and whereas formerly a prejudice existed 
for some reason against local articles, this has now been 
dissipated, and they are becoming more popular. In 
connection with the Agricultural Exhibition in St. 
John's last autumn, the local Manufacturers' Association 
held another display ; and it proved a most agreeable 



229 

revelation to all who were present, to see the number 
and variety of articles that were produced at home, and 
the admirable manner in which these were turned out. 
The representative of the Association in his speech 011 
the occasion, declared that the weekly wage-list in St. 
John's on this account was 35,000, that there were 
5,000 operatives permanently employed in these works 
locally, and that the output at present was valued at 
nearly $3,000,000. 



230 



CHAPTER XXIX. 
EDUCATION. 

FIRST SCHOOLS DENOMINATIONAL SYSTEM ADOPTED- 
HOW IT HAS WORKED COUNCIL or HIGHER 
EDUCATION. 

TVTEWFOUNDLAND has succeeded in keeping her 
AN educational system free from friction by early 
adopting the principles of mutual toleration and the 
recognition of denominational rights. The system in 
operation in Newfoundland is denominational in its 
widest and completest sense. The beginning of common 
school education in the Colony dates back to 1823. In 
that year " The Newfoundland School Society " was 
founded in London by Samuel Codner, a merchant 
trading with the Island, which established schools in 
St. John's and elsewhere, some of which its successor 
"The Colonial and Continental Church Society," still 
maintains. This organization created the nucleus of 
education for the Protestants, while the Catholic 
Bishop, Dr. Meming, in time formed Convents with 
Nuns from. Ireland to help meet the scholastic needs of 
his flock. Not until 1834 did the Legislature appropriate 
any money for education, when $5,000 was set apart for 
common schools and a lesser sum for a non-sectarian 
academy in St. John's. It was not a success however, 
and was discontinued in 1850, after which three sectarian 
academies for Catholics, Anglicans, and Methodists- 
were established, a fourth being added subsequently for 
Presbyterians. Since then the principle of denomina- 
tional schools has always been recognised, though until 



231 

1875 there were only Catholic and Protestant common 
schools. For a period prior to that year the two leading 
Protestant hodies, the Anglican and the Methodist, had 
been desirous of a further division, and to-day, for all 
practical purposes, there arc three bodies to be considered 
throughout the Colony Catholic, Anglican and Metho- 
distwhich rate in population in the order named. The 
Presbyterians and the Cor.gregationalists maintain 
schools in St. John's, and some few other places, and 
the Salvation Army during the past twenty years has 
made such strides in the colony, that it is becoming a 
fourth factor in educational affairs. 

The State provides an annual appropriation for 
educational purposes, which is divided among the de- 
nominations on a capitation basis. At present it is 
$325,000, or, roughly, $1.33 per head of the estimated 
existing population to-day of 240,000. This grant in- 
cludes an increase of 872,000 by the Morris Govern- 
ment since taking office two years ago 30,000 in the 
extraordinary session held in June, 1909, $25,000 at the 
regular session of 1910, and $7,000 at the regular session 
of 1911, making the largest increase ever given in so 
brief a period. 

The disbursing of the funds lies in the hands of 
the superintendents of schools and the Boards of 
Education for the various districts into which the Island 
is divided ; the grants being allocated among the denomi- 
nations proportionately and the prorata principle carried 
out in the allocation for each board. 

The latest figures supplied by the Superintendent! 
of Education shew that there are in the colony 636 
settlements where schools are conducted tor the school 
year (200 days) ; 200 places where schools arc conducted 
for more than half the school year; <5<) settlements 
where schools are conducted for less than half the 
year; and 64 settlements with 25 or more children 
of teachable age, where no schools are maintained 
at all. The Legislature at its last session pro- 



232 

vided a special grant of $7,000 towards making good 
the deficiencies in the latter classes, to be supple- 
mented by $13,000 more next year for the same 
purpose, which sum will provide schools for every settle- 
ment where one can be practically maintained. The 
whole problem could not be solved in one year, as 
teachers were not procurable, but with a year's notice 
this drawback can be overcome. Although it might be 
thought, from the denominational system being in vogue, 
that there were schools of each creed in every inlet, the 
fact is, that out of the 686 settlements, there are but 
J02 in which schools of more than one denomination 
exist. 

Three colleges are situated in St. John's and 
managed by the Church heads. Thus the Catholic 
College is governed by a Board composed of the Bishops, 
leading clergy, and representative laymen ; the Anglican 
Bishop and his associates occupy similar positions with 
respect to its college ; while the president of the 
Methodist Conference is the official head of the institu- 
tion provided for that body. The educational district 
school boards are each presided over by the clergyman 
officiating there. 

Each denomination has a superintendent for its 
schools, who inspects and examines them and supervises 
the educational affairs of that body. He receives a salary 
M $1,600, and has an assistant at $800. The stipend 
for the colleges is fixed bv law, and grants in aid of the 

t 

support and training of teachers are provided at these 
colleges and at the Catholic Convents, an allowance of 
$100 yearly for males and $80 for females being made 
to those who would pursue the teaching profession. 
The salary of the teachers is fixed by the means of the 
board employing him or her, as the case may be, but 
within the past few years, they having represented the 
Diced of further help in this direction," $20,000 is voted 
annually to be disbursed among them as supplemental 
to their salaries. It is impossible to quote the average 



233 

stipends, because they vary so much with the different 
districts, but male teachers get from $250 to $700, 
according to grade, and females from 8200 to $500. 

The boards of education are always chosen from 
the most representative men in each district, and their 
services are given gratuitously. These boards have 
extensive powers ; the schools, property and effects 
being vested in them, with power to lease or purchase 
buildings or lands for school purposes, the latter contin- 
gent upon the locality paying half the sum needed, 
when the board makes good the balance. A pension 
scheme is provided for teachers and bonuses granted to 
induce these to qualify for higher grades by passing 
more stringent examinations from time to time. Careful 
regulations are also in vogue for the working and 
governing of schools and colleges, and for the granting 
of scholarships. 

The average results of the system have always 
been regarded as creditable, considering how the popu- 
lation is dispersed over a far- stretching seaboard. The 
census figures bear eloquent testimony to the difficulties 
attending the advancement of education in this colony. 
In no other country do like difficulties prevail. The 
towns and settlements are mostly separated from one 
another by water. The avocations of the people hold 
them on the fringe of coast. The difficulty of making 
roads to connect so many and such remote settlements 
must be at once apparent. There are 1,372 comrnunil ics 
in the Island. Of these, 893 have from 1 to 100 
persons only ; 376 from 15 to 25 persons ; 255 from 
25 to 50 persons; 157 from 50 to 75 persons; and 
105 from 75 to 100 persons only. There are SJ-iii 1 
children living more than one and a-half miles from 
school; and 72,950 persons over five years of age, who 
cannot read. Out of that number probably some attend 
school, but are not so far advanced as to be rated able to 
read. Allowing for these, there is still at least 25 per 
cent, of the population without any of the advantages 



234 

of school training. There are 51,783 children between 
5 and 15 years of age. Of these, 32,204 attend school, 
leaving 16,584- who do not; doubtless because there is 
no school in the settlement where they reside, or the 
nearest school is too remote for them to attend. 

Under these circumstances, an appreciable develop- 
ment of education was not secured until the establish- 
ment of a central non-sectarian board some eighteen 
years ago, termed the Council of Higher Education. 
Its object was to promote sound learning and to advance 
the interests of higher education, by holding examina- 
tions and by awarding diplomas, prizes and scholarships 
to successful candidates at such examinations, and to 
encourage teachers in the preparation of candidates by 
awarding them premiums. For these purposes it has a 
special grant of 87,500 per year. The Council consists 
of 23 members, 17 nominated by the Government (the 
denominational proportion being always maintained), 
with the three superintendents and the headmaster of 
the three colleges, ex-omcio. This Council owes its 
creation to the present Prime Minister, Sir Edward 
Morris, who has always warmly advocated educational 
endeavour. 

The benefits of the Higher Education movement 
will not be fully apparent until the generation of 
teachers produced by its means have enjoyed an oppor- 
tunity of showing its effects upon the minds of the chil- 
dren they are set over. The most marked effect to-day 
is, in the levelling up of educational work, the widening 
of the aims and scope of the different schools, the 
tolerance and mutual respect engendered, and the 
healthy rivalry caused by the efforts of each denomina- 
tion to make the best possible showing. The educational 
future of the colony is regarded by those interested as 
most hopeful, and certainly every atom of influence that 
churchmen and statesmen can exert in behalf of the 
betterment of the people in this respect is being applied 
to that end ; and the authorities hold, that while there is 



235 

much to be done to reach an ideal standard, they may 
not unreasonably claim for the system that its results 
warrant the annual expenditure. 

In 1897, the colony provided a scholarship, in com- 
memoration of Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee, 
tenable for three years at 8200 a year, to help ilie 
student who secured the highest marks in the London 
Matriculation Examination each year to pursue his or 
her studies at a University outside the colony ; and in 
1909, this amount was doubled by the present Govern- 
ment. 

Newfoundland was also accorded an annual scholar- 
ship by the llhodes' Trust under the terms of the 
bequest of that famous Imperialist, and has sent a 
student to Oxford every year since the Rhodes Scholar 
movement was instituted. 



236 

CHAPTER XXX. 
ST. JOHN'S AND RETROSPECT. 

PROGRESS DURING PAST CENTURY GROWTH OF ST. 
JOHN'S THE ISLAND'S METROPOLIS AND COMMERCIAL 

EMPORIUM. 

IT is curious and instructive to note the contrast 
between the condition of Newfoundland at the 
opening of the nineteenth century and the opening of 
the twentieth century. When the last sands of the 
eighteenth were running out, the colony was still under 
the repressive system which had obstructed its growth 
from the outset. It was regarded by the Imperial 
Government as a fishing station and a training post for 
naval seamen, not as a home for a civilised community. 
It was governed by warship commanders, who spent 
only the summers here and enforced with quarter-deck 
discipline, laws prohibiting settlement, refusing grants 
of land for cultivation or building, and reserving the 
shores for migratory fishermen who came from England 
each spring and returned each autumn. 

At the dawn of the last century the total popula- 
tion of the Island was under 20,000, scattered in small 
hamlets around the shores. St. John's, the capital, 
contained about 3,000 people, sheltered in wooden huts, 
huddled together and in continual danger of fire. The 
principal street was in one place only six feet wide ; and 
all were narrow, uiipaved and unlighted. Conditions 
in the smaller fishing settlements were deplorable. 
Generations lived and died without education and 
almost without religious teaching. The lives of the 
people under these cruel and senseless laws were 



237 

rendered hard and miserable for the express purpose of 
driving them away and preventing any settled popula- 
tion growing up. 

These bad old times have passed away ; and at the 
opening of the twentieth century what a marvellous 
change for the better is seen ! St. John's has grown 
into a city of 30,000 inhabitants. Its streets are lighted 
by electricity and electric street-cars girdle it. All the 
appliances of modern civilization exist railways, tele- 
graphs, telephones, fire-brigades, water and sewerage. 
Its cathedrals, churches, and public buildings, its banks, 
shops, stores and wharves compare favourably with 
those of any other city of the same size. A memorial 
tower of John Cabot crowns Signal Hill, at the entrance 
of the harbour. The hum of industry is heard on all 
sides. Busy crowds throng its streets. Its harbour 
shews forests of masts, and steamships arc constantly 
arriving and departing. 

In 1696, St. John's was over-run and captured by 
the famous D'Iberville. Another French expedition 
attacked it in 1705, burning the town, but failing to 
cupture the forts. Three years afterwards, these 
succumbed to an expedition under St. Ovide : but the 
French were driven out finally, and the town rebuilt 
the following year. 

These struggles attracted English official eyes to the 
colony ; and as the little town had survived the indif- 
ference of the Stuarts and the horrors of war, a more 
enlightened policy was adopted, and the rule of the 
fishing admirals was abolished, Captain Osborne being 
appointed the first Governor in 1727, fifty years before 
Australia was discovered and thirty years before Wol IV s 
victory at Quebec "gave England a continent. " 

For the last time the flcur-de-lys floated over 
St. John's in 1762, when D'Aubusson captured it with 
1,500 Frenchmen; but Sir William Ambers! speedily 
dislodged him, and the French fleet fled from the port , 
leaving the land forces prisoners in his hands. 



238 

The town was destroyed by fire in 1816, 1818, 1846, 
and 1892, the last of these conflagrations involving the 
loss of property to the value of 4,000,000, rendering 
13,000 people homeless, and reducing to ashes nearly- 
all the principal puhlic buildings and religious edifices. 
Commercial disaster likewise contributed its share to 
retard the growth of the town in 1814, 1860, and 1894, 
the last being remarkable for the collapse of its two 
banks and many of its leading business houses. Religious 
intolerance also played its part, the Catholic religion 
being proscribed until 1784 ; education was also dis- 
couraged ; and the colony was not granted " home 
rule " until 1855. St. John's now has a population 
of 30,000, all of British stock, the sons of English, 
Scotch and Irish emigrants who flocked here in the past, 
when it was the half-way house to the western hemi- 
sphere ; and the rest of the population is of the same 
old-country races a hardy, generous people, who, in 
their isolation, have preserved the noblest virtues of 
the race from which they sprang, unsullied by contact 
with the great world outside. This isolation almost 
unique in English-speaking peoples forms one of the 
great charms of the Island for the visitor. 

The harbour of St. John's is entered through a gap 
in the beetling hills, seeming as if some fabled giant 
had cleft it with a blow of his battle-axe. In these 
placid waters a fleet could ride undisturbed by storms 
oiitside, and yet the entrance channel is deep enough to 
admit the largest ironclad afloat. The " Narrows " is 
about 500 feet wide, and the cliffs rise 700 feet high on 
either side, crowned with dismantled forts, which it is 
hoped to see soon restored. In the " good old days," 
when [French and English contended for its mastery, 
night attacks by sea were avoided by stretching a heavy 
chain across the " Narrows " each evening at sundown ; 
the ring-bolts and fastenings on " Chain liock " are still 
pointed out. 

The town is built on the northern hillside. It 



239 

rises in regular tiers from the landwash to the plateau 
above, and overflows out to the charming valley of 
"Freshwater, lying hehind the hill. The south side of 
the harbour is devoted chiefly to seal oil refineries, and 
here are moored the steamers in which the seal-fishing 
is prosecuted. The town is chiefly remarkable for 
splendid churches and kindred institutions. The lloman 
Catholic Cathedral surmounts the crest of the hill, and is 
visible for many miles out at sea. It is, with two exceptions, 
the largest church in North America ; it holds 7,000 
people, and cost 120,000. The sister Cathedral of the 
Anglican body, destroyed in the fire of 1892, has since 
been restored. It is the finest specimen of Gothic archi- 
tecture in this hemisphere, the design of Sir Gilbert 
Scott, and it cost 150,000. They were generous in en- 
dowing their churches, those old colonists ; and colleges, 
schools, halls and orphanages also uplift themselves to 
bear testimony to their liberality. St. John's is the seat, 
of the Colonial Government, Newfoundland being the 
only British possession in North America which clung to 
its legislative independence and declined to join the 
Canadian federation. 

Government House, the residence of the Governor, 
is a square rambling stone structure, set amid thick woods 
and surrounded by spacious grounds. The Colonial 
Building, where the Legislature meets, shows a hand- 
some Ionic portico, and its grounds are now being con- 
verted into an attractive park. The Court House is an 
imposing structure of native granite. The town is also 
the great business centre, the mart or depot for the com- 
merce of the Island. Through the " Narrows " comes 
fully 90 per cent, of the imports food, clothing, 
necessaries and luxuries for the quarter-million people 
settled around its coastline; and through the sam<* 
channel is borne as large a proportion of the exports- 
codfish, sealskins, oils^ lobsters, salmon, herring, c. 
Every spring, hundreds of fishing crafts from the co 
settlements gather at St. John's for their fishing outfit ; 



240 

and every fall, return again to barter their catch for 
food and clothing. 

St. John's owes its prosperity to codfish. As one 
enters the harbour one sees the fishing stations with the 
platforms on which the cod are spread to dry. The 
water-front is lined with wharves, at which are schooners 
landing their catcb and merchantmen loading for 
market. The substantial warehouses behind are packed 
with codfish, and on a fine day wharves, roof tops, coves 
and all available spots are covered with the salt- 
encrusted staple export, drying in the sun. Water 
Street is the business thoroughfare, where the Island's 
commerce is controlled. It is lined with splendid shops, 
where one may buy the finest fabrics or the smallest 
fish-hook. 

But it is to the tourist, the sportsman and the 
artist that St. John's offers the chief attraction. If 
Nature has been churlish in other respects, she has 
made up for it by lavishly dowering the Island with 
natural beauties. Prom the hills above the Narrows 
one views a seascape rarely equalled. The mighty ocean 
stretches away below one's feet, sheer to the Irish coast. 
On the horizon float the fishing flotillas. Within a few 
miles are typical fishing villages, perched in coves and 
crooks, which delight the artist's heart. Well-tilled 
valleys and wooded hills strike the eye on every hand, 
beautiful smiling pastoral country is disclosed by drives 
in the suburbs, and the salubrious climate enhances the 
visitor's enjoyments. 

Erom St. John's, steamers take the traveller to any 
part of the Island and to Labrador peninsula ; and the 
variety of beautiful scenery to be enjoyed in such trips 
cannot but satisfy the most exacting. The fiords 
surpass those of Norway, the beauty of the Humber and 
Exploits Bivers equals any on the Rhine, and the 
scenery of Bay of Islands is the admiration of all 
yachtsmen and tourists who have visited there. 

The social life of St. John's is a noteworthy feature. 



241 

Each summer sees British and "French warships resort 
to the harbour. These, and the city people entertain 
largely ; indeed, the hospitality of the townsfolk is pro- 
verbial. The wealthy classes, mostly, are educated in 
England, only a- week's voyage distant, and combine 
the culture of the Mother Country with colonial 
cordiality and open-heartedness. 

Some anticipate that before long, St. John's will be 
again fortified by the Imperial authorities. Its strategic 
importance cannot be exaggerated, dominating as it does 
the commerce of the North Atlantic, since most of the 
ocean steamers pass within a few miles of the harbour. 
It also commands the water-borne trade of Canada, and 
if seized by an enemy and hastily fortified in war time, 
it would become a veritable thorn in England's side. 
It is naturally so suitable, that to arm it would not be a 
serious undertaking, and British warships could lie 
securely within, ready to dash out and sweep the ocean 
of an enemy's shipping. The discovery of coal in the 
Island forms another reason why it should be made a 
military and naval base; already the Admiralty has 
established a training-ship here, where boys the sons 
of fisherman can be trained for the lloyal Navy. 
St. John's, if fortified, would become what it was in the 
early days of its history, a nursery for seamen to carry 
Britain's banner over the seas and to uphold the 
Empire. 



242 



CHAPTER XXXI. 
PROSPERITY OF NEWFOUNDLAND. 

GROWTH IN ALL DIRECTIONS AMAZING PROGRESS OF 

PAST DECADE VALUE FOR PUBLIC DEBT SPLENDID 

OUTLOOK FOR FUTURE. 

It is doubtful if any possession of the British Empire 
has made more real progress, comparatively, the past 
decade than has Newfoundland, and in view of what has 
been related in the preceding chapters respecting the 
drawbacks which she has had to overcome, it is safe to 
say that her record of late, and especially since this 
century opened, has been amazingly encouraging. For 
instance, whereas Newfoundland's population in 1869 or 
say 40 years ago was but 146,536, it had in 1901 increased 
to 220,984, or 52 per cent, in one generation, while the 
population of Canada's three maritime provinces Nova 
Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island, 
which for 1871 was 769,415, had only increased to 
893,943 in 1901, an advance of but 14 per cent, in the 
same period. It is quite true, of course, that within the 
past ten years Canada has gained enormously through 
the inrush of immigrants, especially to her western 
provinces; in the decade between 1890 and 1900, 
Newfoundland's population, with no immigration what- 
ever, increased 9*37 per cent., whereas Canada's was only 
10*14 per cent., inclusive of considerable immigration. 

Canada's commerce increased 115 per cent, in the 
past ten years; Newfoundland's commerce shows an 
advance of almost 110 per cent, in the same period ; that 
of the United States has only grown by 83 per cent. ; 
and Great Britain's betterment has been but 77 per cent. 



243 

Newfoundland's surplus revenue of 420,000 in the 
fiscal year 1909-10, was better in proportion to her 
population, than Canada's surplus of 814,000,000 during 
the same period ; and the colony's revenue has doubled 
within the past decade, in spite of reductions of taxation 
equivalent to one-tenth of the total income, and in- 
creased appropriations for the administrative services, 
averaging a similar sum, while she accumulated surpluses 
during the decade amounting in the whole to almost a 
million dollars also. Her mineral output has grown 
from 500,999 to 1,250,000 since the century opened. 
The lumber product has swollen in the same ratio; 
and the pulp and paper industry, although only 
in its infancy yet, will produce an output this 
year equal to one-fifth of the value of the 
fisheries, and will enlarge in its scope in each succeeding 
year. Its agricultural industry is steadily developing ; 
the product of its farms becomes greater and more 
valuable each year, and its manufacturing interests are 
also enhancing in value and importance. The gradual 
development of this factor has made it a potent force in 
improving the condition of the people generally, creat- 
ing a decided demand for raw materials of either internal 
or foreign origin; providing constant employment for 
goodly numbers of people, and daily evidencing other 
possibilities tending to diversify the colony's industrial 
interests ; to transform the economic condition of the 
people, and to pave the way for still greater prosperity 
than has heretofore been their lot. All of these con- 
tributaries have assisted in promoting the colony's 
substantial well-being. 

The exports, during twenty years, have exceeded 
the imports by almost a million dollars a year, giving 
the colony a favorable balance of trade to that extent, 
and enriching its people thereby. The doubling of the 
revenue within ten years, though the population has 
only increased by 10 per cent, within the sunn* period, 
conclusively attests how the material welfare of the 



244. 

people lias been improved, since this increase in revenue 
has not been effected by increased taxation, but has 
resulted concurrently with the reduction of taxes and the 
realizing of surpluses every year. The conditions under 
which all forms of business have been transacted in the 
colony have been greatly modernized and improved of 
late years, with highly beneficial results to every interest 
concerned. Increased efficiency in the carrying out of 
the customs and revenue laws ; suppression of 
smuggling from the French Islands of St. Pierre and 
Miquelon ; the regaining of markets in Europe which 
the French were invading until the colony's Bait Act 
crippled them; the gradual abolition at home of the 
uneconomic and undesirable " supply system " ; the 
stimulating influences of education and intercourse with 
the outside w r orld in inducing people to rely on their own 
efforts and to develop self -resource and progress all 
these factors have contributed to work an industrial and 
commercial revolution that has justified itself through 
the improved circumstances of the fishermen; the 
increased value of the fishery and other exports ; and 
the enormous advance that has been made in every other 
direction among the population. 

The nett public debt of the colony is in round figures 
about 22,000,000 or, say, about $90 per head. This is 
somewhat lower than the burdens borne by the people 
of the neighbouring Dominion, because in addition to the 
federal debt of Canada, each province has its own 
obligations, and the municipalities and townships have 
local debts as well ; but in Newfoundland there is no 
municipal debt except in St. John's, the colonial debt 
covering every public accessory, the advantage of which 
is enjoyed by the people. 

This indebtedness is represented by some 700 miles 
of railway, by 100 lighthouses, marine works, roads, 
public buildings, 2,500 miles of telegraphs, and all the 
other utilities, on the providing of which the colony's 
funds have been expended. Probably in no country is. 



245 

the burden of debt borne more lightly than in 
Newfoundland, because there is no direct taxation what- 
ever, and the people therefore do not feel so much what 
is imposed indirectly through the agencies of duties on 
imports. Moreover, counting the reductions in duties 
during the past ten years and the increases in the 
appropriations for the public services which come 
directly within the touch of the people, it can be said 
with truth that the financial condition of the colony is 
highly gratifying, and that the outlook for the future is 
most encouraging. 

The best evidence of how the colony has progressed 
is afforded by the fiscal and trade statistics which are 
published in the appendix, while a further proof of this 
is seen in the figures contained in the following letter 
sent to the colony's London bankers in relation to the 
proposed railway loan of 1910. 

London, 24th June, 1910. 

Messrs. Glyn, Mills, Currie & Co., 

67, Lombard Street, E.G. 

Gentlemen, 

In connection with the proposed issue of 800,000 
Government of Newfoundland 3J per cent. Inscribed 
Stock, for which you are authorised to receive subscrip- 
tions, I beg to state on behalf of the Government 
that : 
The average Annual Revenue for the ten 

years ended June 30th, 1909 was ... $2,478,726 
The average Annual Expenditure for the 

same period was ... 2,388,242 

The total Surplus of Revenue over Expen- 
diture for the same period was ... 904,840 
The average Annual Surplus of lie venue 

for the same period was... 
The Revenue for the fiscal year ended 

30th June, 1900, was 2,110,23 !< 



246 

The Revenue for the current fiscal year is 

estimated to reach * ... 3,380,000 

The Surplus for the current year is esti- 
mated at 450,000 

Out of the surplus revenue of $904,840 mentioned 
above, $500,000 has been set aside and is on deposit as a 
liquid reserve. The balance of the surplus revenue has 
been expended on public works. 

The proceeds of the present Loan will be applied 
to the building of five branch lines of railway, about 
300 miles in length, to connect with the main trunk 
line of railway between St. John's and Port-aux- 
Basques ; the building of such branch lines has been 
authorized by Parliament (10 Edward VII., chap. 12.) 

The financial position of the colony is eminently 
satisfactory, and its material interests are steadily 
improving. Large investments of capital have recently 
been made in developing pulp and paper industry in 
connection with the immense timber resources of New- 
foundland. The same remark applies to the extensive 
oil deposits which are being opened up ; and the mineral 
and other resources of the colony are also attracting 
considerable attention. 

I am, Gentlemen, 

Your obedient Servant, 

(Signed) EDWARD PATRICK MORRIS, 
Prime Minister. 



247 



CHAPTER XXXII. 
THE MORRIS GOVERNMENT'S WORK. 

COMPREHENSIVE PROGRAMME SUCCESSFUL ADMINIS- 
TRATION COLONY PROSPERING OUTLOOK MOST 
FAVOURABLE. 

THE administration headed by Sir Edward Morris 
took office on March 3rd, 1909, following upon 
the resignation of Sir E/obert Bond's Cabinet, and had to 
await the general election in the following May for an 
endorsement by the electorate, which was given unmis- 
takably ; the legislature, then elected, comprised twenty- 
six Morrisites and ten Bondites. The leader of the 
Morris Party, in his election address, pledged himself 
that he would not be a party to union with Canada, but 
would maintain its separate identity and independent 
existence, and would do his utmost to carry out the 
following programme : 

Construct branch railways to certain sections of the 
Island hitherto without these facilities ; introduce cold 
storage for the export of fishery products, and open up 
new markets for the sale of this staple product ; provide 
steam subsidies to countries where such markets could 
be developed; establish bait freezers at points around 
the coast to assist the fishermen in securing large catches 
of exportable fishes ; encourage the prosecution of the 
minor fisheries ; develop better trade relations with 
Canada and America ; promote industries for the market- 
ing of the various local fishery products ; extend telegraph 
and telephone facilities in the Island, and the Marconi 



248 

system along the Labrador ; establish a weather bureau ; 
provide a daily telegraphic fishery service, and 
inaugurate more modern methods of compiling informa- 
tion regarding the progress of the fisheries. Further, 
he undertook to construct lighthouses, fog alarms, break- 
waters, wharves and other marine works ; improve the 
coastal steam service by adding more ships ; and provide 
a dredge to deepen shallow harbours. Likewise, he 
promised to promote the development of agriculture , to 
secure lower rates by ship and rail for ferm products ; 
and to encourage farming colonies in suitable localities ; 
as well as the utilization of peat for fuel. Moreover, he 
agreed to stimulate research for minerals by a money 
grant to the original discoverer of any mine ; promote 
the housing of workmen at mines and other industrial 
centres ; protect miners by stricter laws regulating the 
use of explosives ; ensure the payment of workmen at 
industrial enterprises weekly ; and bring about the 
examination of the coal fields. He advocated, too, 
increased educational grants ; the adoption of an Old 
Age Pension scheme ; the establishment of hospitals on 
the remoter sections of the coast ; and the upholding of 
the colony's treaty rights; declaring his confidence, 
moreover, that this lengthy and comprehensive pro- 
gramme could be carried out without increased taxation. 
This latter he has fully made good. All of these 
measures, though they have involved substantial outlays 
from time to time, have been effected without adding to 
the burden of taxation ; on the contrary, his first step 
was to stipulate in the contract for the construction of 
the branch railways enterprised last year, that the men 
should be paid $1.50 per day ; this had the effect of 
increasing wages all over the country, which was 
equivalent to indirectly reducing taxation somewhat, as 
it gave the people greater earning powers. His next 
step was to effect a friendly compact with the companies 
operating iron ore deposits in the Island, whereby they 
contribute a royalty of 7-| cents per ton on their output 



249 

annually for the next ten years, an amount yield in sr 
the colony $100,000 a year; which sum yields large 
additions to various public grants. He then completely 
altered the existing policy regarding the disposal of 
Crown Lands for mining, lumbering, and pulp making, 
the revenue therefrom being increased four-fold the past 
year, as a result from $60,000 annually, to $250,000. 
His vigorous and progressive measures in different 
directions likewise contributed much to encourage the 
employment of local and foreign capital in various 
industries in the Island ; and there has been a steady and 
marked increase in the value of the Customs imports, 
and in the revenue derived therefrom the duties on 
imports making up the bulk of the Island's income, so 
that the revenue has increased from $3,000,000 to 
$3,500,000 within two years. This, of course, has made 
it possible, not only to successfully finance the construc- 
tion of the branch railways, but to improve other public 
services. 

The vigorous manner in which Premier Morris and 
his associates have upheld the colony's contentions before 
the Hague Arbitration Tribunal, and undertaken the 
development of local industries, and their progressive 
action in stimulating the development of the colony's 
economic and commercial relations, dispelled any fear 
that may have existed as to an intention on their part to 
force the colony into union with Canada ; besides which, 
the financial success of the Ministry's operations since 
taking office, has made it clear that doubt as to the ability 
of the Government to fully carry out its programme is 
no longer justifiable. So excellently have the financial 
affairs been handled, that the last fiscal year saw a surplus 
of $420,000 realized, whereas the best previous surplus 
the colony had ever seen was only $256,000, and for tin* 
current fiscal year ending June 30th, 1911, a surplus of 
$142,000 is estimated, despite a similar sum being set 
aside for increased appropriations for public servic- 
Among the first undertakings abroad which tin- 



250 

Premier essayed, was the raising of a loan of $4,000,000 in 
London last year, for the construction of the branch 
railways, and so favorable a showing was he able to make 
as to the colony's financial condition, that this 3 J per cent, 
loan was floated at 97^, a higher rate than had ever been 
realized by the colony for its securities before. This 
was conclusive proof of the manner in which outside 
investors regarded the plans of the administration, and 
the confidence they had in the efficiency and honesty of 
purpose of the Government's intentions, the colony's 
position as an applicant in the money market being, of 
course, materially strengthened by the arrangement which 
had been effected with the iron-ore companies, and which, 
as stated, increased the revenue by nearly $100,000 a year. 
The building of these branch railways is proceeding apace. 
Last year, some seventy miles of road were completed, 
from the trunk line towards Bonavista; and this year, 
besides finishing that branch, others will be started, and 
work continued until all Imve been completed. This 
was the largest item in the Government's programme, 
and the most costly ; but it was so successful that a 
scheme of Old Age Pensions was inaugurated. Out of 
the surplus of $420,000 last year, $200,000 was set apart 
to form the nucleus of an Old Age Pension fund, being 
permanently invested in colonial debentures, which yield 
four per cent, interest ; and to the $8,000 thus secured, 
$12,000 was added from the current revenue, and this 
sum of $20,000 will be distributed amongst 400 aged 
poor, at the rate of $50 per annum. It is hoped next 
year to be able to appropriate a similar sum, and again 
the year after, this policy being continued annually as 
the financial circumstances of the colony will permit, 
until a sufficient sum is available to meet every deserv- 
ing case. 

Generous provision was also made for Education, 
$30,000 being voted in the session of 1909 ; $25,000 in 
1910 ; and $7,000 in 1911, the latter sum to assist in 
establishing schools in places in the colony where there 



251 

are none at present ; and the Government has promised 
to add $13,000 more, next year, with the same object in 
view, so that every locality will now be assured of at 
least rudimentary education. 

An amount of $100,000 was likewise provided by 
the Government to complete the lighthouse system of 
the colony, and this work is being pushed forward with- 
out delay, some $43,000 having already been expended 
thereon, whilst provision is also being made for the 
extension of telegraphs and additional Marconi stations ; 
$30,000 has been expended already on telegraph 
extension, and $10,000 on wireless equipment ; and a 
special feature in the latter direction will be the erection 
of two stations on the north-east coast for the con- 
venience of the sealing fleet during the spring months, 
as eight of the twenty ships now engaged in this industry 
are fitted with this agency. 

Out of the surplus of last year, another $200,000 
was set aside for the repair of marine works, roads and 
bridges throughout the colony, a sum equivalent to one 
year's grant for these works, and this will have the 
effect of immensely improving these public utilities. 

In the recent session a measure was introduced for 
the confirming of a contract concluded by the Govern- 
ment with an American cold storage company for the 
construction and operation within the colony of five 
stations or plants, each with a capacity of 500 tons of 
cold-stored fish; with a fish-packing house, a glue 
factory and a guano factory as an auxiliary to each, 
to enable the utilization of every portion of the products 
secured. One of the largest New England fishing 
concerns, with great experience in the operation of cold 
storage warehouses, has been induced to undertake this 
venture, the Government guaranteeing up to 5 per cent. 
annually on the capital stock to the amount of hall' 
million "dollars. It is believed that this enterprise wiJ 
have an immensely beneficial effect on the whole fishing 
trade of the colony, by stimulating a large export of 



252 

cod, herring, salmon and lobsters chilled and frozen, 
besides increasing the price of all these commodities. 
To the fisherman an increase of 10 cents per quintal on 
1,500,000 quintals of fish would mean $150,000 put into 
their pockets, of which one-third would go hack to the 
revenue in the shape of duties on articles of import 
which would be purchased, the colony thus obtaining 
twice the amount of the sum it would have to pay this 
company if the venture made no profit at all ; and the 
fishermen themselves would have a clear 100,000 of 
personal profit in addition. 

Trade Commissioners have been appointed in Spain 
and Brazil ; new methods of pickling and curing fish 
have been encouraged at home ; the Admiralty and Wai- 
Office have been moved to introduce canned codfish as 
rations for sailors and soldiers in the Imperial service ; 
and plans are now maturing for the extensive develop- 
ment of the lesser fishing industries of the colony. 

In the providing of coastal steam services, the 
present Government has been unusually generous. Two 
excellent steamers have been provided for the districts 
of Pogo and Eortune Bay, while others are being 
arranged for the north and west coasts. The Heid 
Newfoundland Company is now planning a daily express 
train service across the Island, and a second steamer on 
Cabot Strait, which will give a daily connection with the 
whole of the North- American continent ; and provision 
is likewise being made for an improved ocean service 
between Britain, Canada and the United States. 

To advance local fishing interests, an Act has been 
passed prohibiting the employment of steam vessels in 
the fishery on Labrador coast, fearing that such condi- 
tions may in time ensue there as in the North Sea, where 
the independent fisherman, with his own smack, is being 
displaced by the steam vessel owned by a corporation, 
in the profits of which he shares but little; a daily 
weather bureau service has been inaugurated ; the 
Labrador coast is to be surveyed ; new lighthouses are 



253 

being established there ; and, in addition to the existing 
steamship now operated on the southern part of that 
coast in the summer season, a second steamer is being 
provided for the northern section. 

In nothing has the Government shown more energy 
than in the development of agriculture. Last year, 
seventy agricultural societies were established all round 
the Island ; seeds, stock and implements were dis- 
tributed to these ; eminent experts were brought to the 
colony from Canada to advise in regard to agricultural 
progress ; men were brought from Ireland to instruct 
the people in cutting, drying and using peat for fuel ; 
and an Agricultural Exhibition was held in St. John's 
in the autumn, which amazed everybody by its revela- 
tion of what could be grown in the Island vegetables, 
grains and fruit ; while the examples of stock raised 
locally were equally creditable. 

The Government has also stimulated mineral 
development by providing a money grant for original 
discoverers of mineral deposits ; by providing aid and 
bounties to mining investors ; by undertaking to assist 
in developing the oilfields of the west coast, the coal 
areas of the interior, and others of the mineral resources ; 
and efforts are being made, in conjunction with capitalists 
abroad, to stimulate the investment of further ^ sums 
herein, and to actively interest prominent people in the 
Mother Country in the various directions in Avhich 
financial effort has been chiefly conspicuous of late in 
Newfoundland. 

A bounty has been offered for the manufacture of 
woollens, with the idea of inaugurating a sheep industry ; 
a British manufacturing concern has undertaken the 
establishment of factories for the making of explo- 
both for local use and for export to Canada; another 
concern has undertaken the manufacture of 
fuel by mechanical processes ; and further plans of 
same character are in comtemplation. 

These advances, however, are but a foretaste ^t \s 



254 

the Government hopes to accomplish as the years go by. 
The opening up of the new hranch railways will give 
access to excellent farming, mining and pulp-making 
tracts. It will encourage development in various 
directions, and should he followed hy the settlement of 
numbers of people on the land, and their engaging in 
various small industries, which while, perhaps, unim- 
portant as compared with others, will nevertheless tend 
to the greater employment of capital in the colony. The 
success of the pulp and paper-making establishments at 
Grand Palls and Bishop Falls has excited universal 
interest in the paper trade, and much attention has been 
given to the possibility of similar work elsewhere in the 
Island, so that within a few years it is hoped to sec 
many other similar establishments in active operation. 
Newfoundland has suffered greatly in the past from 
ignorance and misunderstanding as to her position and 
possibilities, but the work of the present Government 
has been largely educational, and has been unsparing in 
the endeavour to enlighten the outside world as to the 
country's possibilities. 



255 



Appendix. 



Fiscal Statistics for the past Fifteen Years. 



Year ended 
June 30th 


Revenue. 


Expenditure 


Surplus. 


1896 


$1,564,467 


$1,360,455 


$204,014 


1897 


1,610,788 


1,866,811 


*256,023 


1898 


1,789,874 


1,784,826 


4,998 


1899 


1,753,736 


1,719,834 


33,912 


1900 


2,110,234 


1,850,630 


258,604 


1901 


1,991,154 


1,955,525 


:?5,629 


1902 


2,193,526 


2,129,466 


64,060 


1903 


2,328,044 


2,270,028 


55,016 


1904 


2,513,633 


2,393,286 


120,347 


1905 


2,574,069 


2,443,814 


130,255 


1906 


2,660,805 


2,591,235 


69,570 


1907 


2,759,690 


2,625,336 


125,854 


1908 


2,829,078 


2,785,835 


43,183 


1QOQ 


o 04,7 cfte 


2,947,868 




iyuy 
1910 


^,c7T* 1 ,O\JO 

3,447,988 


3^137*774 


310,2U 



* Deficit. 



Trade Statistics for the past Fifteen Years. 



Year ended 
June 30th 


Imports. 


Exports. 


Total Trade. 


1896 


$5,986,861 


$6,638,187 


$12,625,048 


1897 
1898 


5,838,334 
5,188,863 


4,925,789 
5,226,933 


10,415,796 


1899 
1900 
1901 
1902 
1903 
1904 
1905 
1906 


6,311,245 
7,407,147 
7,746,503 
7,836,685 
8,479,944 
9,448,664 
10,279,293 
10,414,274 


6,936,315 
8,627,576 
8,859,978 
9,662,624 

9,976,504 
10,381. SOT 
10,66! ),:< li' 
12,088 


1*728 
16,606,491 

17,3S 

!'. -: 


1907 
1908 
1909 
1910 


10,626,040 
11,016,111 
11,402,737 
12,799,696 


12,101,161 
12,316,769 
11,841 
11,824,997 


'2'2,,-t ,- >(| l 



256 



Movement of Imports for the past Fifteen Years. 



Year ended 
June 30th. 


Total 
Imports. 


United 
Kingdom. 


Dominion 
of Canada. 


United 
States. 


Other 
Countries. 


1896 


$5,986,861 


31,875,754 


$2,231,641 


$1,473,721 


$405,745 


1897 


5,938,334 


1,960,999 


1,593,931 


2,135,008 


248,396 


J898 


5,188,863 


1,519,253 


1,823,238 


1,671,134 


175,238 


1899 


6,311,245 


1,935,025 


2,088,093 


1,928,834 


359,293 


1900 


7,497,147 


2,224,353 


2,805,490 


1,993,505 


473,799 


1901 


7,476,503 


2,328,622 


2,489,499 


2,088,465 


569,917 


1902 


7,836,685 


2,244,178 


2,612,042 


2,501,806 


478,659 


1903 


8,479,944 


2,143,464 


2,869,898 


2,920,914 


545,668 


1904 


9,448,664 


2,479,138 


3,423,225 


2,991,002 


555,279 


1905 


10,279,293 


2,654,908 


4,105,569 


2,750,114 


768,702 


1906 


10,414,274 


2,651,196 


3,521,939 


3,609,192 


631,947 


1907 


10,426,040 


2,669,934 


3,669,098 


3,417,359 


639,649 


1908 


11,516,111 2,668,802 


4,257,647 


3,859,892 


729,730 


1909 


11,402,337 


2,493,670 


3,937,009 


4,232,680 


738,978 


1910 


12,799,696 


2,940,401 


4,559,789 


4,571,192 


728,314 



Movement of Exports for the past Fifteen Years. 



Year ended 
June 30th. 


Total 
Exports. 


United 
Kingdom, 


Dominion 
of Canada. 


United 
States. 


Other 
Countries. 


1896 


$6,638,187 


$1,727,852 


$638,741 


$489,027 


$3,782,567 


1897 


4,925,789 


1,347,273 


478,110 


533,518 


2,564,888 


3898 


5,226,933 


1,355,920 


482,512 


427,478 


2,961,023 


1899 


6,936,315 


1,443,266 


541,727 


620,056 


4,331,266 


1900 


8,627,576 


1,942,093 


520,137 


1,005,525 


5,159,821 


1901 


8,359,978 


1,831,941 


711,746 


884,068 


4,932,223 


1902 


9,552,524 


2,104,932 


1,046,109 


1,207,461 


5,194,022 


1903 


9,976,504 


2,173,090 


1,102,65'J 


1,357,031 


5,343,724 


1904 


10,381,897 


1,993,195 


1,102,708 


1,470,497 


5,814,697 


1905 


10,669,342 


1,940,945 


1,135,848 


1,418,625 


6,173,925 


1905 


12 086,276 


1,662,612 


1,777,169 


1,278,997 


7,367,498 


1907 


12,101,161 


1,394,269 


1,611,480 


1,492,795 


8,028,657 


1908 


11,815.769 


1,177,709 


1,863,784 


1,209,4-28 


7,558,858 


1909 


10.848,913 


1,426,229 


1,542,090 


848,176 


7,032,4] 8 


1910 


11,824,997 


1,824,235 


1,454,314 


1,163,313 


7,383,135 




Crosbie's Steamer " Fogota." 







Photo. 



Leading Tickles. 



n 



257 



Some of the Principal Imports for the Past Five Years, in 

which Britain, Canada and the United States can 

compete on fairly equal terms. 



Articles. 


1905-06. 


1906-07. 


1907-08 


1908-09 


1909-10 




Dollars. 


Dollars. 


Dollars 


Dollars 


Dollars 


Total Imports of all Arti- 












cles (including Specie) 


10,414,274 


10,426,040 


11,576,111 


11,402,337 


12,799,696 


Coal 


526,927 


565,208 


648,391 


605,997 


691,734 


Leather and Leatherware 


332,637 


352 235 


346,562 


347,338 


421,641 


Dry Goods 


331,177 


376,4*2 


368,989 


388,716 


432,036 


Cotton Fabrics 


319,440 


262,250 


252,688 


342,622 


323,935 


Hardware . 


305,686 


300,207 


293,585 


256,242 


347,380 


Small wares 


226,397 


232,101 


211,155 


216,766 


249,742 


Hemp Yarn 


225,029 


211,835 


251,715 


158,685 


91,411 


Ready mades 


209,360 


206,831 


183,518 


181,155 


215,293 


Tweeds 


179,786 


162,763 


133,968 


138/.74 


160,355 


Women's Dress Goods ... 


146,082 


129,767 


123,744 


108,305 


127,853 


Salt 


136,693 


101,737 


142,865 


111,388 


105,835 


Machinery & Locomotives 


363,073 


368,849 


400,326 


336,624 


516,404 


Groceries ... 


127,530 


136,335 


144.437 


138,985 


144,035 


Fruit 


127,585 


130,208 


151,714 


133,154 


116,115 


Stationery 


107,811 


128,000 


100,325 


103,372 


142,546 



Imports from Great Britain of above articles during the 
Past Five Years. 



Articles 


1905-06 


1906-07 


1907-08 


1908-09 


1908-10 


Total Imports from Great 


Dollars 


Dollars 


Dollars. 


Dollars 


Dollars 


Britain of all Articles 












(including specie) 


2,657,196 


2,669,934 


2,668,802 


2,493,670 


2,940,401 


Coal 


43,1*52 


32,457 


24,513 


44,389 


48167 


Leather and Leatherware 


16,032 


17,147 


16,267 


16,396 


23,138 


Dry Goods 


236,978! 278,4 10 


254,925 


273,413 


305,345 


Cotton Fabrics ... 


236,207| 190,245 


179,398 


178,986 


221,947 


Hardware 


134,156 


141,730 


129,640 


107.858 


151,498 


Smallwares 


196,552 


193,691 


179,337 


182,8H6 


209,087 


Hemp Yarn 


164,024 


156,869 


173,572 


89,067 


69,164 


Readymade Clothing ... 
Tweeds 


159,309 
167,484 


159,762 
154,794 


144,524 
127,936 


138,998 
134,373 


168,504 
157,274 


Women's Dress Goods ... 


137,860 


122,276 


117,498 


103,008 


122,550 


Salt 


1,028 


1,189 


1,114 


'.HI 


G76 


Machinery & Locomotives 
Groceries ... 


37,524 
61 ( 658 


79,399 

6C>,007 


102,371 
73,768 


47,649 
66,222 


114,330 
62,597 


Fruit 


37,825 


44,269 


44,960 


39,745 


36,892 


Stationery 


25,589 


28,S76 


28,208 


31,496 


36,190 



258 



Imports from Canada of above articles during the past 
Five Years. 



ARTICLES. 


1905-06 


1906-07 


1907-08 


1908-09 


1909-10 


Total Imports from Canada 
of all Articles (including 
Specie) 


Dollars 
3,669,098 


Dollars 
3,669,098 


Dollars 
4,257,647 


Dollars 
3,937,009 


Dollars 
4,559,759 


Coal 


405 781 


449,235 


540 462 


513 292 


539 946 


Leather and Leatherware . . . 
Dry Goods 
Cotton Fabrics 
Hardware 
Smallwares 
Hemp Yarn ... 
Beady made Clothing 
Tweeds 
Women's Dress Goods 
Salt 


141,253 
34,071 
14,406 
63,007 
17,315 

10,523 
10,947 
6,069 
25,084 


120,796 
34,998 
10,398 
48,981 
20,272 
2,051 
8,206 
7,295 
6,557 
22,319 


122,114 
34,519 
10,479 
59,891 
16,152 
398 
10,280 
5,958 
5,737 
19115 


120,883 
42,410 
8,096 
50,577 
20,529 
5,876 
11,643 
4,259 
5,189 
13860 


120,355 
46,918 
12,302 
63,954 
22,668 
21,913 
13,954 
2,976 
4,202 
17849 


Machinery and Locomotives 
Groceries 
Fruit 


31,280 
27,494 
11,337 


128,987 
22,737 
14,976 


147,966 
26,893 
11,581 


154,140 
30,037 
15,324 


198,655 
35,648 

18787 


Stationery 


38,691 


53,512 


45,818 


46,179 


61,967 



Imports from United States of above articles during: the 
past Five Years, 



ARTICLES. 


1905-06 


1906-07 


1907-08 


1908-09 


1909-10 


Total Imports from United 
States of all Articles 
(including Specie) 


Dollars 
3,417,359 


Dollars 
3,447,359 


Dollars 
3,859,892 


Dollars 
4,232,680 


Dollars 
4,571,192 


Coal 


77522 


80,815 


83,272 


48,150 


99,851 


Leather and Leatherware . . . 
Dry Goods 
Coiton Fabrics 
Hardware 
Smallwares 
Hemp Yarn 
Ready made Clothing 
Tweeds 
Women's Dress Goods 
Salt 


175,243 
57,863 
62,989 
99/2S3 
13,178 
57,760 
37,276 
1,348 
2,082 
2,128 


214,267 
61,301 
58,485 
98,468 
18.032 
50,560 
35,431 
390 
934 
427 


208,161 
75,222 
59,093 
92,998 
12,716 
75,286 
27,565 
44 
509 
6,914 


209,982 
70,102 
53,822 
86,667 
12,197 
63,742 
28,615 
42 
62 
4,270 


188,106 
78,223 
88,117 
117,876 
16,894 

31,587 
105 

848 

7,282 


Machinery and Locomotives 
Groceries 
Fruit 
Stationery 


127,672 
30,502 
25,978 
37,273 


158,643 
869 
39,492 
35,237 


148,477 
39,455 
31,019 
24,205 


123 255 
36,047 
38,864 
24,460 


193,363 
39,303 
31,108 
43,474 



259 

The Game Laws of Newfoundland. 

Caribou or Deer. 

SEC. 3. No person shall hunt, kill or pursue with intent to kill, any 
moose or elk within this Colony, at any time before the 1st day of 
January, 1912. Maximum penalty $200 or three months' imprisonment. 

6. No person shall hunt, kill or pursue with intent to kill, any caribou 
from the 1st day of February to the 31st day of July in any year, both 
days inclusive, or from the 1st day of October to the 20th day of October 
in any year, both days inclusive. 

7. No person other than a licensee under this Act shall, during the 
time by this Act allowed for killing caribou, kill or take more than two 
stag and one doe caribou in any one year. 

10. No person not actually domiciled in this Colony shall hunt, kill or 
pursue with intent to kill, in any season any caribou without having first 
procured a license for the season, nor shall more than one license be 
granted in any one year to any one person. 

11. Such licenses to hunt caribou shall only be issued by a Stipendiary 
Magistrate, a Justice of the Peace, or the Department of Marine and 
Fisheries. A fee of ftl for each license shall be paid to the person issuing 
same. 

13. Any person not domiciled in this Colony shall be entitled to hunt, 
kill and pursue with intent to kill, caribou on taking out a license, for 
which a fee of $50 shall be paid, and such license shall entitle the holder 
thereof to kill not more than three stag caribou. Licenses may be 
issued to Officers of His Majesty's Ships of War employed on this station 
for the Fisheries Protection without payment of any fee upon application 
to the Minister of Marine and Fisheries. 

14. Licenses shall be issued to all guides by any of the persons named 
in Section 11, but the fee of $1 in the said section mentioned shall not be 
charged. Every non-domiciled guide shall pay for such license a fee of 
$50. Every applicant for such license shall make oatli or affirmation 
that he will use his best endeavours to have the provisions of this Act 
carried out, and that whenever any breach thereof may occur he shall 
forthwith report the same to the nearest Magistrate, Justice of the Peace 
or Warden, with a view of prosecuting the offender to conviction. 

15. No person holding a license to hunt, kill or pursue caribou 
shall employ as a guide, valet, or personal servant, laborer or bearer 
in a hunting expedition any person who has not obtained a license 
under the next preceding section. 

16. Any person obtaining a license to hunt, kill or pursue caribou 
shall make oath or affirmation before the person granting the said license 
that he will not violate or permit the violation of any portion of this 
Act. 



260 

17. No person holding a license to hunt caribou shall kill or take 
more stag caribou than the number indicated by his license, and no 
member of a hunting expedition, whether a guide, bearer or laborer, 
or otherwise in the employ of the holder of such license, shall kill any 
caribou other than under the said license, and as a part of the number 
indicated therein. 

18. It shall be the duty of the holder of a license to hunt, kill or 
pursue caribou to return his license at the expiration thereof to the 
Magistrate or other person authorised to issue the same with a state- 
ment thereon in writing under oath or affirmation specifying the number 
of caribou killed by him and his party under the said license. 

19. Save as provided in this Act, no person shall export the antlers, 
heads or skins of any caribou, nor shall the owner, master, officers or 
crew of any vessel permit the exportation therein of any such antlers, 
head or skin, or any part thereof, save as provided and under a permit 
of a Customs officer. Penalty $500 or six months' imprisonment. 

20. If any master, owner, or officer, or any one of the crew of any vessel 
shall be convicted of a violation of the last preceding section, he shall, 
upon such conviction, be liable for every such offence to a penalty of 
$500 or six months' imprisonment, and such penalty shall constitute a 
claim against the said vessel, and become a lien thereon, and may be 
collected and enforced by the seizure, confiscation and sale of the said 
vessel, despite any change of registry or ownership between the date of 
the offence and the seizure of the vessel. 

21. Any person holding a license to hunt, kill or pursue caribou 
under this Act may export the carcasses, antlers, head or any part of 
any caribou killed under the said license, upon entering the same at 
the Custom House for exportation and receiving a permit therefor. 
Such person shall make oath or affirmation, specifying the articles 
which he intends to export, and that the same are portions of caribou 
killed under license held by him, and stating the name of the person 
from whom he obtained the said license, and the date thereof, and that 
the articles about to be exported are not being exported as articles of 
commerce, and he shall thereupon pay a fee of 50 cents to the officer of 
Customs before whom such export entry is made, which fee the said 
officer is hereby authorised to retain. Such affidavit or affirmation shall 
be forwarded to the Department of Marine and Fisheries. 

22. No person holding a license to hunt, kill or pursue caribou under 
this Act shall export from this Colony the carcasses, heads, or antlers of 
more than three stag caribou. 

23. Any person not holding a license to hunt, kill or pursue caribou, 
but who is domiciled in this Colony, may export the antlers, heads or 
skins of caribou upon entering the same for exportation at a Customs 
House in the Colony, and receiving a special permit therefor. Such 
permit shall not be granted except upon an affidavit made before the 
Customs officer to whom application for a permit is made, stating the 



261 

name of the owner of the articles to be exported, their destination, and 
the person from whom and place where obtained, and that the same are 
not being exported as an article of commerce. Such affidavit shall be 
transmitted by the officer of Customs to the Department of Marine and 
Fisheries. 

24. Any person who shall put up the flesh of caribou in cans or tins 
or other packages shall be liable to a penalty not exceeding two hundred 
dollars, or, in default thereof, to imprisonment for any period not 
exceeding three months. 

25. Any flesh of caribou found put up in cans, tins or other packages 
may be seized, and may be destroyed by the order of a Justice of the 
Peace. 

26. It shall not be lawful for any person to purchase, or to receive in 
exchange, from any other person, any venison or any portion of the 
flesh of caribou, at any time between the first day of January and the 
thirty-first day of July in any year, and any person offending against the 
provisions of this section shall be liable to a penalty not exceeding two 
hundred dollars, or, in default, to imprisonment for any period not 
exceeding three months. 

27. If any Customs officer is informed or becomes aware that any 
antlers, heads or skins of caribou are being exported except by a person 
who has complied with the provisions of this Act in all respects, it shall 
be the duty of such officer to seize the said antlers, heads or skins, or any 
portion thereof, and to make complaint before a Stipendiary Magistrate 
or Justice of the Peace that a violation of this Act has been committed. 

28-29. All persons are prohibited from setting any snare, trap or pit 
for the destruction or capture of, or killing or pursuing with intent to kill 
any caribou. 

(a) With dogs ; or 

(b) With hatchet, tomahawk, spear, machine, contrivance or 

weapon, other than firearms loaded with ball or bullet ; or 

(c) While swimming or crossing any pond, lake, stream, river or 

watercourse. 

No person is allowed to hunt or kill caribou within the area as hereafter 
described, that is to say : 

Commencing one and a-half miles south of Grand Lake Station, on 
the shores of the lake, to a point at the same distance from the railway 
at Howley ; thence to Goose Brook, one and a-half milea from the 
railway line; thence east to the railway line near Kitty's Brook Falls; 
thence northwardly six and a-half miles ; thence to a point at Junction 
Brook, three miles north of Grand Lake Station ; and thence south- 
wardly along the course of the brook and shore of the lake to the place 
of commencement. 

All fines and penalties under this Act shall be sued for and recovered 
in a summary manner on information or complaint before a Justice of 



262 

the Peace by any person who shall inform and sue for the same ; and 
one-half of all fines and forfeitures imposed shall be awarded to such 
complainant who shall prosecute the offender to conviction. 

Any person who shall violate any section of this Act for which no 
penalty is herein provided shall be liable to a fine not exceeding $200, 
and in default of payment to imprisonment for any period not exceeding 
six months. 



Birds and Wild Rabbit or Hare. 

No person shall hunt, kill, purchase or have in his possession any 
ptarmigan or willow-grouse, commonly called partridge, or the eggs of 
any such birds within this Colony between the 15th day of December 
and the 20th day of September in any year under a penalty of not exceed- 
ing one hundred dollars, or imprisonment not exceeding three months. 
Provided it shall not be held unlawful to sell, etc., or have possession of 
such birds where the party shall prove that the said birds were killed 
between the 20th day of September and the loth day of December in 
any year. 

It shall be unlawful for any person to export from this Colony for sale 
as an article of commerce, any willow or other grouse or partridge, under 
a penalty of five dollars for each bird so exported. 

No person shall hunt, etc., sell, purchase or have in his possession any 
curlew, plover, snipe or other wild or migratory birds (except wild geese) 
or eggs of any such birds within the Colony between the 15th day of 
December and the 20th day of September in each year, under a penalty 
of not less than $25.00 nor exceeding $100.00, or in default of payment, 
of imprisonment not exceeding three months. 

No person shall trap or snare any wild Babbit or Hare between the 
1st day of March and the 20th day of September in any year under a 
penalty of not less than $25 and not exceeding $100, or imprisonment 
not exceeding three months. 

Any person except a traveller on a journey found on Sunday carrying 
firearms, shall be subject to a fine not exceeding forty dollars, and in 
default of payment, to imprisonment for a period not exceeding one 
month. 

Any person, except a traveller on a journey, found on the shooting 
grounds carrying firearms with or without dogs between the fifteenth 
day of December and the first day of October, where such game is 
known to frequent shall be subject to a fine not exceeding fifty dollars, 
and in default of payment, to imprisonment for a period not exceeding 
one month. 

No person shall hunt, kill, wound, take, sell, barter, purchase, receive 
or give away, or have in his possession, any Capercailzie or Black Game, 
or the eggs of any such birds within this Colony, at any time from the 



263 

12th day of October, 1907, to the 12th day of October, 1917, under a 
penalty not exceeding one hundred dollars and costs, and in default of 
payment, to imprisonment not exceeding two months. 

The following description of the birds is published for general 
information : The Capercailzie Cock is a large bird weighing from seven 
to twelve pounds, of dark blue plumage, but white from the crown 
downwards and with white spots on the upper wing coverts. The Black 
Cock which is larger than the Partridge, is also of dark blue plumage, 
with white feathers under the tail and wings. The hens of both species 
are colour of the local Partridge in early summer a light brown. 

Nothing contained in these Rules and Regulations shall extend to any 
poor settler who shall kill any birds (except those prohibited for a term 
of years from being killed) for his immediate consumption or that of his 
family. 

Otters, Beavers and Foxes. 

No person shall hunt beavers or export beaver skins till October 1st, 
1913. 

No person shall, in any year, take, kill, wound or destroy any otter or 
beaver between the first day of April and the first day of October, under 
a penalty of twenty-five dollars or imprisonment not exceeding one 
month. 

Any person who shall purchase, receive or have in his possession any 
skin or carcass of a beaver killed or taken in violation of the law, shall be 
liable to a penalty for a first offence, not exceeding two hundred dollars 
or in default, imprisonment not exceeding two months ; and for a second 
offence shall be imprisoned for six months with hard labor. 

Possession of a carcass or skin of a beaver shall be primd facie 
evidence of a violation of this Act. 

No person shall hunt foxes from March 15th to October 15th in any 
year. 

Trout and Salmon. 

No person shall catch, kill, capture or take any salmon, trout or inland 
water fishes in any river, stream, brook, pond, lake or estuary in 
Newfoundland by any other means except rod, hook and line. 

No person shall by spearing, sweeping or hauling with any net or 
seine, take or attempt to take any salmon, trout or inland water fish, and 
the use of lime, explosives or other deleterious compounds for killing or 
catching fish of any description is prohibited. 

In every mill-dam, rack or framework erected or built across any pond, 
lake, river, brook or stream where salmon and trout have been known to 
enter, there shall be put a proper pass-way or fish-ladder not less than four 
feet in width, capable of allowing salmon or trout of any size to enter the 
waters above. Any logs or timber of any description which may be so 



264 

placed as to impede the passage of salmon or trout in a river or stream 
shall be instantly removed, and no sawdust or mill rubbish of any kin 
shall be cast into any pond, lake, river, brook, stream or watercourse. 

No person shall catch, kill or take any salmon or trout in any river, 
brook, stream, pond or lake in this Colony between the 15th September 
and the 15th January next following in any year. 

No person shall buy or sell or have in possession any salmon or 
trout which have been taken contrary to these rules, and every salmon 
or trout so taken may be forfeited to the complainant by any Justice. 

No person not being a resident of this Colony or its dependencies or 
not having a fixed place of domicile therein shall take or fish for any 
salmon, sea-trout, ouananiche, trout or charr, or any fish inhabiting or 
resorting to the inland waters or estuaries of this Island or its 
Dependencies, unless such person shall first have taken out and obtained 
an Inland Fishery License. Provided, nevertheless, that this section 
shall not apply to officers of His Majesty's ships upon service on or 
visiting this station. 

The conditions on which the said license is granted shall be : 

(a) That the licensee shall in all respects conform to the laws of this 
Colony, and especially to the Statutes and the Rules and "Regulations of 
the Board having reference to the taking of fish in inland waters, and 
shall do all in his power to prevent the infraction of such laws, rules and 
regulations, and to promote the protection of the Inland Fisheries ; 
(b) That he shall pay to the Board or its authorised Agent the sum of 
ten dollars as a fee for said license ; (c) Upon proof to the satisfaction 
of the Board that such licensee has been guilty of any violation of the 
law the Board may declare the said license to be cancelled, and the said 
licensee is thenceforth deprived of all rights and privileges under the 
same. 

Fire Patrol Regulations. 

The Government has appointed a Chief Woods Hanger and Fire 
Wardens for the better protection of the game forests. His duties are, 
in part : 

(1) To periodically travel over all woodlands, whether belonging to the 
Crown or private owners under lease from the Crown. 

(2) To trace the origin of every woods fire and fully report same to the 
Government. 

(3) To act in the capacity of an officer for the enforcement of the game 
laws of the Colony. 

(4) To see that the following notice is conspicuously displayed: 
" Camp-fires must be totally extinguished before breaking camp, under 
penalty of not to exceed twelve months' imprisonment or $400 fine, as 
provided by law." 

The Government of Newfoundland having leased to the Anglo- 
Newfoundland Development Company certain and land water areas 



265 

situate in the districts adjoining Ked Indian and Victoria Lakes, 
tourists and sportsmen will please note that, before entering upon 
the lands of the Anglo-Newfoundland Development Company 
whose lands extend along the line of railway from Grand Falls to 
Gaff Topsails (Summit), inclusive it will be necessary to first take 
out a permit, which can be obtained by applying to the Company's 
headquarters at Grand Falls. It is also required by the terms of the 
contract arranged with the Government, that " Every tourist or party of 
tourists shall be required to employ one at least of guides or fire wardens 
employed by the Anglo-Newfoundland Development Company, as guide 
at the usual fees when entering on the lands of the said Company." 

Customs Regulations. 

When Tourists, Anglers and Sportsmen arriving in this Colony bring 
with them Cameras, Bicycles, Angler's Outfits, Trouting Gear, Fire- 
arms and Ammunition, Tents, Canoes, and Implements, they shall be 
admitted under the following conditions : 

A deposit equal to the duty shall be taken on such articles as Cameras, 
Bicycles, Trouting Poles, Fire-arms, Tents, Canoes, and Tent equipage, 
A receipt (No. 1) according to the form attached shall be given for the 
deposit and the particulars of the articles shall be noted in the receipt as 
well as in the marginal cheques. Receipt No. 2 if taken at an outport 
office shall be mailed at once directed to the Assistant Collector, St. 
John's, if taken in St. John's the Receipt No. 2 shall be sent to the 
Landing Surveyor. 

Upon the departure from the Colony of the Tourist, Angler or Sports- 
man, he may obtain a refund of the deposit by presenting the articles at 
the Port of Exit and having them compared with the receipt. The 
Examining Officer shall initial on the receipt the result of his exam- 
ination and upon its correctness being ascertained the refund may be 
made. 

No groceries, canned goods, wines, spirits or provisions of any kind 
will be admitted free and no deposit for a refund maybe taken upon such 
articles. 



266 



Licensed Guides, 1911. 



NAMES. 

Walter B. Shears 
Chas. Gilliam ... 
Charles M. Benoit 
Reuben King 
Francis King 
Joseph Young ... 
William H. Gilliam 
Thos. Webb 
William Young ... 
James Young 
Robert Shears ... 
Thos. A. Shears... 
Jas. A. Shears ... 
Geo. Shears 
John P. John 
John Bourgeois ... 
Walter Perrior ... 
Chas. Hines 
Thomas Legge ... 
James W. Legge 
Richard Gill ... 
Maxim Young ... 
Allan Mclsaac ... 
John Ed. Parsons 
Peter Benoit 
Wm. Webb 
Frederick Webb 
Wm. Allen 
John A. Pennell 
William Messervey 

A. Wells ^ 

Wm. J. LeMoine 
Dennis Callahan 
John Gillett ... 
John Arnold 
Edward P. Brake 
Wm. P. Brake ... 
George Snooks... 
William Pennell 
William Joy 
Henry Whitehorn 
George Gillard ... 



DISTRICT. 
St. George's 
Robinson's Head 
Stephenville 
Bank Head .. 



ADDRESS. 
Bay St. George. 



Robinson's Head 
Flat Bay ... 



Robinson's Head 



Flat Bay 



Portau Porfc... 
Robinson's Head 



Bank Head ... 
Highlands 
Sandy Point ... 
Barachoix Brook 
Main River ... 
Flat Bay ... 
Curling 



Corner Brook. 



Humbermouth 



Halls Bay 

Springdale, Halls Bay 
Halls Bay 



Bay of Islands. 



Grand Lake. 
Notre Dame Bay. 



267 



NAMES. 

James Ludnow 
Alfred Beaton ... 
George Beaton 
William Oke ... 
Jenkins Price ... 
John Wells ... 
Konald Ralph... 
Eobert Saunders 
R. B. Stroud ... 
Alexander Butt 
John Dowy 
Eobert Brooking 
Ezekiah Ralph 
Daniel Burton 
Walter LeDrew 
Frank Strickland 
Joseph Jeddore 
Nicholas Jeddore 
Noel Jeddore ... 
Matthew Burke 
Bernard John 
Stephen Bernard 
John D. Jeddore 
Stephen Joe ... 
George Kelly . . . 
Michael Walsh 
Patrick Hurley 



DISTRICT. 
Norris' Arm 



ADDRESS. 



Gambo ... 
Alexander Bay. 
Troytown 
Glovertown 



Bona vista Bay. 



La Poile... 
Bay D'Espoir 



Long Harbour .. 



South East Arm 
Salmonier 



Fortune Bay. 

M 

5> 

Placentia. 

St. Mary's Bay. 



263 
OCEAN AND LOCAL STEAMSHIP SERYICES. 



THE ALLAN LINE. 

The Allan Steamship Company maintains a fort- 
nightly service between Liverpool and St. John's, thence 
to Halifax and Philadelphia, returning from the latter 
port to St. John's direct, and on to Glasgow, from which 
place the ships move to Liverpool in order to begin 
another round voyage. An important improvement in 
this service is being effected the present year through 
the employment of the steamer "Pretorian," a much 
larger, faster and finer ship than those previously used, 
and it is expected that either this season or next, two 
other steamers of the same class will be substituted for 
those that are performing the contract with her during 
the present year. The Allan steamers enjoy a well- 
deserved reputation for comfort and security, and this 
has been amply maintained in the Newfoundland 
service, in connection with which there has not been a 
serious mishap to an Allan liner for almost a quarter of 
a century. The passage rates are very reasonable, 
approximating $60 for first- class, and the voyage 
between Liverpool and St. John's is made within a 
week. The ships are fitted with wireless telegraphy, 
and the service is deservedly popular and draws a 
constantly increasing clientele. Messrs. Shea & Co., of 
St. John's, are the Newfoundland agents. 



PURNESS LINE. 

The Furness-Withy Steamship Company maintains 
a line of steamers between Liverpool, St. John's and 
Halifax, plying alternately with the Allan ships, so as 
to afford the colony, really, the advantages of a weekly 
service. These Purness steamers are excellent sea- 



269 

boats, specially adapted for the traffic, and give 
accommodation for a limited number of passengers, 
they being chiefly intended for the carriage of the 
enormous quantities of freight, which are transported by 
these means, and which are growing very much in recent 
years owing to the development of new industries 
within the colony. The rates on these steamers are 
somewhat similar to those on the Allan ships, and the 
service is excellent. The time occupied in the passage 
is about seven days. Messrs. J. & W. Pitts, of St. 
John's, are the Newfoundland agents, 



RED CROSS LINE, 

The Red Cross Steamship Company operates two 
excellent passenger ships between New York, Halifax 
and St. John's, giving a weekly service for most of the 
year, and a ten-day service for the remainder. Two 
years ago the powerful new steamship "Florizel" 
was constructed for this service, one of the strongest 
and stoutest passenger ships afloat. She formed a 
remarkable innovation, inasmuch as she was designed to 
engage in the seal fishery in March and April, and 
perform this "liner" service during the rest of the 
year. She proved so successful in the seal hunt, though 
of 3,000 tons gross bulk, that the Company built a still 
larger ship, the "Stephano," on the Clyde the past 
winter, with the same objects in view, and she begins 
the passenger service in June of this year. These ships 
do a large tourist traffic in summer of Americans 
desirous of a change from the torrid summer heats of 
their own country to the cool, salubrious shores of 
Newfoundland, and trans- Atlantic passengers also avail 
themselves of these means of reaching the Island, 
first-class rates approximate $40 for the voyage each WMV. 
The ships carry wireless equipment, Harvey & Co., o 
St. John's, are the Newfoundland agents. 



270 

BLACK DIAMOND LINE, 

The Black Diamond Steamship Company carries on 
a service between May and December between Montreal, 
Charlottetown, P.E.I., Sydney, N.S., and St. John's, 
making weekly trips with the steamers " Rosalind " and 
" Bonavista." The former ship was employed on the 
New York service until replaced by the " Stephano," 
and has more than ordinary passenger capacity, while 
the " Bonavista " is a ship that was specially built for 
the route, and is also excellently provided in this 
respect. The service is a popular one, and the scenic 
beauties of the St. Lawrence attract many passengers to 
it. Harvey & Co.. of St. John's, are the Newfoundland 
agents. 

GULP LINE, 

Steamers carrying passengers and freight are 
run during the summer between Montreal and 
St. John's, giving excellent accommodation and afford- 
ing opportunities for enjoyable voyages. Shea & Co., 
of St. John's, are the Newfoundland agents. 



TRANS- ATLANTIC LINE CONNECTIONS. 

Passengers by all trans- Atlantic steamships plying 
via Canadian and United States ports, can make con- 
nections with Newfoundland by any of the foregoing 
steamer lines, or by utilizing the Railroads to North 
Sydney, N.S., where they can connect with the Reid- 
Newfoundland Company's steamships that ply across 
Cabot Strait daily, and really form part of the railway 
system of the Island. These ships leave North Sydney 
or Port-aux- Basques about midnight, and traverse the 
90 miles in six to seven hours, enabling travellers to 
enjoy a comfortable night's rest and awake in harbour on 
the other side. 



271 

REID COASTAL STEAMERS. 

At Port-aux- Basques or St. John's, from whichever 
side the traveller enters the Island, he can effect con- 
nections with all the eight ships of the Reid system and 
make numerous tours along the coast or in the bays, 
extending his voyage to farthest Labrador if he so 
desires. This Company's system is very complete and 
perfect. Through tickets are sold, comprehensive tours 
are arranged, every choice of route can be effected, and as 
the Company has its agents at every railway station 
and in the various ports of call, every facility is afforded 
passengers for availing of all its resources. 

THE BOWRING STEAMSHIPS. 

The firm of Bowring Bros., Ltd., of St. John's, 
despatches two coastal steamers the " Portia" and the 
" Prospero " one plying between St. John's and Belle 
Isle Strait, touching at the principal harbours in the 
northern bays, and the others performing similar 
services on the south and west coasts. A round 
voyage in either ship occupies 10 to 12 days, and during 
the summer months special rates are given, while the 
opportunities which such trips afford of enjoying varied 
scenic attractions bring them generous patronage. 

THE "CROSBIE" SHIPS. 

The Newfoundland Produce Company, of which 
Crosbie & Co. are the St. John's agents, likewise run 
two fine steamers, the "Eogota" giving a weekly 
service to Fogo district and the principal intervening 
ports, and the " Susu " carrying out a weekly service 
on Fortune Bay. These ships afford splendid 
opportunities for travellers to familiarize themselves 
with the sections of the seaboard which they serve, and 
as the rates charged are the lowest compatible with 
good service, it is easy to see that they are favourites on 
their routes. 

THE END. 



Hcntian : 

PRINTED BT WHITEHEAD, MORRIS & Co., LTD. 
9 & 10 FENCHURCH STREET, E.C. 

1911. 



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