October, when the cod fishery closes. The cod are taken by the
hook-and-line, the seine, the cod-net or gill-net, the cod-trap and
the bultow. Newfoundland exports cod to Brazil, Spain, Portugal,
Italy, Great Britain, Greece, the West Indies and the United States.
Brazil and Spain are the largest consumers.
After the cod the seal fishery is of next importance. The industry was begun about 1740, when the value of the seal oil exports was £1000. In 1904–1905 sealskins and seal oil to the value of $370,261 and $374,974 were exported, the price of a skin varying between $·90 to $1·25. This shows a considerable falling off. The number of men employed is about 4000. Steamers were first used in 1863. They are from 350 to 500 tons burden, most of them carrying from 200 to 300 men. The larger class can bring in from 30,000 to 40,000 seals. In one instance 41,900 seals were brought in by a single steamer, the “Neptune,” the weight being 874 tons and the value $103,750. In bad years the catch may not exceed 200,000—in 1893 it fell to 129,061. By law no steamer may leave port on a sealing voyage until the 12th of March, and no seal may be killed before the 14th of March. The young seals are born on the ice between the 15th and 25th of February, and mature so rapidly that they are in excellent condition in four weeks.
Of more recent origin is the lobster fishery, their packing for export having begun in 1873. By 1888 the value of the lobster export had risen to $385,077. In 1904–1905, while the catch had somewhat diminished as compared with 1895, the value had increased to $512,662.
A vigorous effort has been made to establish the herring fishery on a scale commensurate with the abundance of the fish in these waters. In 1855 the total quantity exported was 32,042 barrels, with a value of $91,357. In 1905 there were 176,633 barrels, valued at $379,938. The principal seats of the herring fishery are Fortune Bay, Placentia, Bay St George and Bay of Islands, and the whole coast of Labrador, which furnishes the finest kind of herring. Besides the herring exported, at least $150,000 worth is sold to the French and Americans as bait.
The export of preserved salmon, of which the island has an abundant supply, does not form a large or important item, seldom reaching in value $100,000. Salmon is taken for the most part in nets in the coves and bays and at the mouths of rivers. The season for taking it is brief, six or seven weeks, beginning at the end of May. The proper preservation of the salmon waters has been for generations neglected, and reckless practices bade fair wholly to exterminate the fish. In 1888, however, a fisheries commission was appointed, and river warders were charged with the stringent enforcement of the new laws. The best salmon fisheries are in Bonavista Bay, Gander and Exploits bays, and on the west coast.
Mackerel formerly frequented the Newfoundland coasts, but disappeared about the middle of the 19th century; and few halibut or haddock are caught. Sea trout and brook trout, however, abound, and latterly Loch Leven and Californian rainbow trout have been introduced with success.
The most extraordinary increase concerns the whaling industry. Before 1850 a very successful whale fishery was carried on, but it then suddenly ceased and has only recently been revived. The revival is due to the invention of a harpoon-gun which kills the whale effectually and with despatch. There are now fourteen whale factories in operation for the production of bone and oil. While in 1895 the value of the oil reached only $7300 and the bone $1000, a decade later the values were $384,062 and $34,833 respectively; no fewer than 1275 whales being caught. A patent process manufactures the carcases into a fine guano, and utilizes the by-products, thus adding $100,000 to the industry.
On the whole the aggregate value of the Newfoundland fisheries for 1906–1907 was nearly £2,000,000 sterling, including the fish consumed in the colony.
Agriculture.—Until recent years little attention has been paid to agriculture, the belief being current that the interior of the island was a desert. The reports of the geological survey dispelled this fiction, it being conclusively shown that out of the 28,000 sq. m. of dry land over one-sixth or 7000 sq. m. is available under suitable conditions for arable and for grazing purposes. The best land is situated in the Codroy valley, which is rich in alluvial soil. That in the Bay St George district is very fertile, and in the Humber valley, Exploits valley and elsewhere many thousands of farmers could work to advantage. In 1874 only 36,339 acres were under cultivation. In 1901, 215,579 acres were occupied, of which 85,533 acres were actually under cultivation, producing chiefly hay, oats, potatoes, turnips and cabbages. In the numbers of live stock there as been a notable increase, especially in sheep. Newfoundland seems especially adapted for a sheep-grazing country.
Mining.—Not until a comparatively recent date was Newfoundland known to contain mineral deposits of great value. The first discovery of copper ore took place at a small fishing hamlet called Tilt Cove in 1857. Seven years later the mine was opened, and during the following fifteen years Tilt Cove mine yielded about 50,000 tons of copper ore valued at $1,572,154, besides nickel worth $32,740. In 1875 another mine at Bett’s Cove was opened. There are three principal mines, all in Notre Dame Bay, the copper exports in 1905 being 81,491 tons, with a value of $448,400. The copper-bearing deposits are widely distributed. According to the geological survey reports, copper-bearing rocks have a development of over 5000 sq. m. throughout the island. Iron-mining, however, has far surpassed copper-mining, the chief centre being at Bell Island in Conception Bay. Hematite iron has been found at Exploits river, Fortune Harbour, New Bay and other parts in Notre Dame Bay. The iron exported in 1905 amounted to 635,350 tons with a value of $635,350. In 1895 the value of iron exports was nil. Of iron pyrites 68,970 tons were exported in 1905 valued at $410,514. Similarly in 1895 no slate was exported. It has since been worked at Trinity Bay, Bonavista Bay and Bay of Islands, the latter deposit being declared equal to the best Carnarvon slate. In 1905 14,750 tons were shipped. The existence of coal in the island has been known since Captain Cook first reported its discovery in 1763, but until lately little has been done to exploit it. The most important carboniferous region is at Grand Lake, St George’s and the Codroy region directly opposite the Cape Breton coal-fields.
Zinc has been found in many localities, as also antimony, silver and gold. Asbestos is frequently found, and mica of good size has been discovered in the Laurentian rocks in the Long Range Mountains and in Labrador. At the mouth of the Humber are large deposits of marble. The valuable non-metallic materials include talc, gypsum, graphite, lithographic stone and manganese.
Shipping.—The total number of vessels sailing under Newfoundland registry on the 31st of December 1905 was 3049, with a net tonnage of 129,617 tons. Of these 66 were steamers. The statistics of foreign-going tonnage show a remarkable growth in trade. The bounty granted by the legislature has given a considerable impetus to local shipbuilding. Between 1900 and 1905 the average of vessels annually built in the colony was 105, with a total tonnage for the five years of 17,698. In 1904–1905 the total value of exports was $10,669,342, of imports $10,279,293. For the period of seven years preceding the exports exceeded the imports by $7,174,676 or a balance of trade in favour of the colony of over one million dollars annually.
Manufactures.—In 1874 there were only five saw-mills in the colony, producing 2111 ft. of timber. The census returns of 1901 showed 195 saw-mills valued at $292,790, employing 2408 persons and producing 43,648 ft. of timber, 16,197 of shingle and 2020 of laths, of a total value of $480,555. Paper-making from wood-pulp has been mentioned in connexion with Flora, above. Six tanneries in 1901 produced goods to the value of $98,200. There are boot and shoe, tobacco, nail, soap, furniture and carriage manufactories. The rope-walk in St John’s produces rope and line valued at $300,000 annually.
Government.—Newfoundland is a British colony, directly dependent on the crown. Representative government and a constitution were granted to it in 1832, and “responsible government” in 1855. Two legislative chambers were appointed—the house of assembly, to be elected, and the legislative council, to be nominated by the governor in council. This form of government has worked satisfactorily. It consists of a governor who is appointed by the crown, and whose term of office is usually about six years; an executive council chosen by the party commanding a majority in the house of assembly, and consisting of seven members; a legislative council or upper house, of fifteen members nominated by the governor in council and holding office for life; and a house of assembly elected every four years by the votes of the people on a household suffrage basis. There are seventeen electoral districts sending thirty-six members to the house of assembly, all of whom are paid. The sessional allowances range from $194 to $291. The supreme court, instituted in 1826, is composed of a chief justice and two assistant judges. They are appointed by the crown, and hold their office for life. The jurisdiction of Newfoundland extends over the whole of the Atlantic coast of Labrador.
Finance.—Duties levied on imports form the basis of the revenue. The tariff being intended for the cost of government and not for industrial protection, the duties are not as a rule differential, being partly ad valorem, partly specific.
There is no direct taxation, and there are no city or town corporations. The customs revenue grew from $840,936 in 1885 to $2,295,959 in 1905. The public debt increased from $2,149,597 in 1885 to $22,043,338 in 1905, against which there was a sinking fund of $300,244. The debt of St John’s municipal council $1,187,221, on which full interest is paid to the government, must be credited to the gross public debt. In December 1905 a new loan of $636,903 was floated in England. Based on the value of the exports the earning capacity of the population increased from $29 per head in 1885 to $47 per head in 1905. The postal and telegraph revenue amounted in 1905 to $125,000, having more than doubled in a decade. The crown lands revenue, which in 1895 was $5500, stood in 1905 at $41,357. With the United Kingdom, trade, which in 1888 was 38% of the whole, steadily diminished in
volume, until it was in 1905 only 22% of the whole. Trade with
