been an annual expense on the exchequer of that country, and a source of great anxiety and dispute on both sides of the Atlantic.

The province of New-Brunswick, lying on the main land of the continent, contiguous to the United States and Lower Canada, consists of an extensive tract, comprising 27,700 square miles, the greater part of which is still covered with dense forests; the land, however, is in general fertile, and excellently adapted for all the purposes of profitable agriculture and the settlement of emigrants.

This province is bounded north by the Bay of Chaleurs and the river Restigouche; on the south by the Bay of Fundy; on the east by the Gulf of St. Lawrence, and on the west by Lower Canada and the State of Maine, and is separated from Nova Scotia by a narrow neck of land, which divides the Gulf of St. Lawrence from the Bay of Fundy.

The face of the country is, in general, pretty level or moderately undulating; but it is diversified by several isolated groups of hills, particularly in the northern parts. Innumerable rivers and streams intersect it in all directions, which are alike suitable to navigation and manufacturing purposes. The climate, though foggy and raw in winter, is on the whole salubrious. The natural products are numerous and valuable; wild animals are plentiful, and the rivers and lakes abound in fish, while along the coasts cod, haddock, salmon and other species of the finny tribe, are yielded in plenty to the enterprising fisherman. The whale fisheries are carried on to some extent. The resources of the province are thus inexhaustible, and according to MacGregor, suitable to the maintenance of three millions of inhabitants. As yet, New-Brunswick has a small population, at most about 200,000, and the principal settlements are along the river St. John and its lakes. On the northern side of the entrance of this great river, from the Bay of Fundy, stands the town of St. John, the largest in the province, and the seat of an extensive trade. FREDERICKTON, which claims to be the capital of the colony, is situated nearly ninety miles above St. John, on the same river, and is yet, in appearance, a mere village. The chief buildings are the governmenthouse and a college.

Bordering on the Gulf of St. Lawrence, and separated from the river of that name only by a narrow strip of the territory of Lower Canada, this province possesses great capacities for sustaining an extensive inland trade with the Canadas.

Miramichi is the next chief river to St. John. It falls into the gulf, and is navigable for large vessels for about forty miles. Along its banks, here and there, are seen the cabins of the settlers, who have not, however, made any great progress in cultivation. The cutting and export of timber form the main trade of the district. About twenty miles up, on the south bank, is the village of Chatham, where many ships load, and where many of the merchants are settled, who have erected stores and wharves. Four miles further up stands Newcastle.

The province is divided into eleven counties, which are again subdivided into townships. The geology of the country is very little known; but limestone seems to be the prevailing formation, though clay-slate, grauwacke, and even the primitive formations frequently occur. Coal is abundant, and

is wrought near the Grand Lake, by a joint stock company. Iron and gypsum occur also in considerable quantities.

Agriculture, notwithstanding the rich tracts of alluvial soil skirting the rivers and large indentations of the sea, is considerably less advanced than in Nova Scotia and the Canadas. This is owing, in part, to the later set tlement of the province, but chiefly to the people preferring the more profitable but far more laborious occupation of lumbering. Within the last few years, however, great improvements have taken place in this respect. Agricultural societies have been formed, new settlers have introduced the improved forms of agriculture, and emulation has been generally excited by ploughing-matches, cattle-shows and distribution of premiums. Wheat, corn, barley and oats are the principal grain crops, but by far the most important article is the produce in potatoes, the crop of which may be annually estimated at not less than 3,000,000 bushels. Red and white clover are the grasses most cultivated, and beans, peas, turnips, mangel-wurzel and beetroot thrive well, and are raised in pretty large quantities. Pasturage is followed to some extent, and it is estimated that the live-stock of the province is not less than 130,000 horses, 100,000 cattle, 150,000 sheep and 60,000 hogs. The felling and conveyance of timber constitutes, however, as before observed, the great employment of the laboring classes; but most of the lumberers are dissolute and depraved, and the occupation prevents them from paying proper attention to agriculture. Many of the trees, especially the yellow pine, attain great size, and furnish timber of good quality, though inferior to that of Norway and the Baltic. It is principally conveyed to Great Britain in the log, and some is manufactured into deals, boards, staves, &c.

Ship-building is extensively carried on, especially at St. John's. The number of ships built in 1846, was 164, of the aggregate burden of 45,864 tons. These are generally, however, of the class called "slop-built," and do not enjoy a high character for solidity or endurance. The trade of the country is chiefly carried on with the mother country and the United States, and employs about 4,000 ships and upwards of 450,000 tons annually. The imports consist chiefly of corn from the United States and the manufactures of England and Ireland, and West India produce, with some minor articles. The exports are lumber, whale oil and dried and pickled fish, as salmon, cod and herrings.

The colony seems, on the whole, to be improving. The Brunswick Land Company have done much to promote emigration, and several joint stock companies and banks have been established. The premium for bills on England varies from 8 to 113, and the difference between the currency and sterling price of money, in the province, amounts to 11 per cent. Bank paper forms largely the medium of circulation.

The form of government is much similar to that of the other British possessions. The parliament consists of 26 members, and sits at Frederickton. The judiciary courts are, the Court of Chancery, presided over by the governor; the Supreme Court, directed by four justices; Circuit Courts; a Court of Common Pleas, and numerous courts for the recovery of small debts. The revenues are raised from sale of lands, taxes and other imposts: they are small, and only capable of defraying the civil expenditure. The army is paid by Great Britain, but every man is subject to militia duty. The charge of religion is vested in the Bishop of Frederickton. The people are pretty equally divided among the different sects, and it is said that a fanatical spirit interrupts, to a great extent, the internal peace of the colonists.

In regard to education, a sufficient number of establishments exist: there is a college at the capital, several grammar schools, and common schools in every parish.

We have no authentic statistics of the Church of England, nor of the Roman Catholics, in this colony. We are enabled, however, from the accurate reports made by some of the dissenting churches, to record their present condition and numerical force. The Wesleyan Methodists and Episcopal Methodists, though not very numerous, have a respectable and efficient corps clerical and about 8,000 communicants, and the Universalists have two societies and two meeting-houses. The Congregationalists and Presbyterians have also several churches and missionary stations, and the Baptists have 92 churches, 59 ordained ministers, and 9,283 church members. Sunday-schools are attached to every society, and home-meetings, especially in remote places, are common throughout the country, evidencing a popular regard for Christian solemnities. The Church of England and the German Lutherans form a vast majority.

The population of New-Brunswick consists of a mixed race of English, Irish, Germans and Welsh, and a few Scotch and Americans. The French have also some small settlements on the east coast. The aboriginal inhabitants are few in number and live in scattered villages, in different parts, and are chiefly of the Roman Catholic religion, having been converted by the first settlers.

The country, now called New-Brunswick, was, in the early part of last century, comprised by the French within the districts of New-France, and viewed as an appendage to Acadia. During the war, the French were expelled from the country, and at the peace of 1763 it was ceded to Great Britain and constituted a part of Nova Scotia, until 1785, when it made a separate province. The country, however, was little more than a wilderness, until General Sir Guy Carleton procured for it a royal charter, and was himself appointed the governor. To his exertions it owes its rapid rise to prosperity, but it also owes many material improvements in its roads, schools, agriculture, judicial arrangements, &c., to Sir H. Douglas, governor, from 1824 to 1831. Many of the Hessians, after the war of the revolution, settled in this province on lands granted by the government.

NOVA SCOTIA AND CAPE BRETON.

The Peninsula of Nova Scotia and the Island of Cape Breton, together forming one of the provinces of British North America, are separated from each other only by the Gut of Canscaw, a narrow strait through which the waters of the Gulf of St. Lawrence partly escapes. Their relative position and similar geological features, render it probable that at some previous period they have been united, and have since been dissevered by the action of the waters of that mighty stream. It lies between 43° and 46° north latitude, and 610 and 670 west longitude, and is bounded on the north by part of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, which separates it from Prince Edward's Island; on the north-east by the Gut of Canscaw; on the west by the Bay of Fundy, which separates it from New-Brunswick, and on the south and south-east by the Atlantic Ocean. It measures about 100 miles in length, but is of unequal breadth; altogether it contains 15,617 square miles, or 7,496,160 acres. One-third of its superfices is occupied by lakes

of various shapes and sizes, spread in every direction over the face of the peninsula. There is no part of the land thirty miles distant from navigable water, and in all parts there are fine streams and rivers. The southern margin of Nova Scotia is broken and rugged, with very prominent features, deep inlets and craggy islands. The features of the northern coast are soft and free from rocks. The peninsula has no elevations deserving the name of mountains; its highest point, Mount Ardoise, between Windsor and Halifax, not rising more than 700 feet above the sea. A pretty high ridge of hills skirts the shore of the Bay of Fundy.

The chief promontories are Capes George and Canscaw on the north-east side, and at the southern extremity is Cape Sable. The basin of Minas is a deep inlet on the north-west side, forming a part of the Bay of Fundy, which separates Nova Scotia from New-Brunswick. St. Mary's and Argyle bays are on the south-west side; Pictou, Antigonische and Chedebucto bays, form the chief irregularities on the northern coast; and the eastern coast, from Cape Canscaw to Cape Sable, is indented with almost innumerable small bays, harbors, and rivers. The rocks and islands which fringe the Atlantic coast are exceedingly picturesque. Deep water is found, almost without exception, close to their shores.

As regards geological constitution, the greater part of Nova Scotia may be described as a low range, running from south-west to north-east, resting on solid rocks of granite, trap and slate, alternately. Towards the east end are beds of sandstone, grauwacké, gypsum, limestone, porphyry, and many other kinds of rock; and on these strata there is usually a deep, rich soil. The barren tracts are chiefly of sand and clay; and in these parts, especially about Pictou, are the great coal-fields of Nova Scotia. Iron is abundant in the coal strata, and different varieties of lead and copper ore, though in smaller quantities. Near Pictou are several brine springs, one of which is saturated with salt, in the proportion of 12 to 88.

The climate of Nova Scotia, like that of the adjoining districts, is salubrious and pleasant; but is in a peculiar degree exposed to the extreme of summer heat and winter cold. The ground is generally covered with snow from the middle of December till the middle of March, in which respect it nearly resembles Upper Canada; and during this period the farmers draw upon sledges their wood and poles from the forest, and draw their produce to market. It is difficult to say when spring commences, as it is rather late and irregular in its approaches. When vegetation does begin, it is very rapid, and two or three days make a perceptible change in the amount of the foliage. The summer may be said to be short and powerful, and during the time it lasts, it exerts a much greater influence on vegetation than is observable in Britain. During this period the inhabitants go very lightly dressed. Altogether, the climate of Nova Scotia is as good as that of Scotland, if not superior; nor are there any of those local or epidemical disorders with which other countries are frequently afflicted. Although the winters are intensely cold, they are not so disagreeable as the raw, changeable winters of Britain, nor nearly so fatal to human life. Besides, if the settlers work during three-quarters of a year, they have ample provision for the remaining quarter, and are enabled to look forward to winter as their season of holiday enjoyment and relaxation. We have been informed by a Nova Scotian, that the improvement of the country is greatly retarded by the inactive habits of the settlers. The employment most popular is fishing, and agriculture remains so backward, that large importations of flour from the United States are constantly required, the payment of which drains the country of specie. The farmers, it seems, are in the habit of

ceasing to exert themselves after attaining a moderate means of subsistence, and their sons spend the time in riding and other frivolous pursuits, which should be devoted to the improvement of the paternal acres. These halfidle habits, and also an indulgence in spirituous liquors, are described as the true cause of the backward state of the colony, as respects its territorial improvement.

Few parts of the world are so well-watered as Nova Scotia. The rivers, brooks, springs, and streams of different kinds, are very numerous. Some of the lakes are extremely beautiful, containing in general one or more small islands, which are covered with a luxuriant growth of wood, and vary in every imaginable shape. The land in the neighborhood of them is often undulated in the most romantic manner. These lakes will in time be of great service to the province. In several instances they nearly intersect the peninsula, offering scope for inland navigation.

Besides a great va

The fruits produced in the country are numerous. riety of wild fruits, gooseberries, strawberries, cherries, and raspberries, there are pears of various kinds, and all the varieties of English plums, apples of a very superior quality, and some other fruits. The other vegetable products are cucumbers, potatoes, artichokes, cauliflowers, cabbages, beans, and peas. Hops are an invariable and sure crop, and may be raised in great abundance. Pumpkins and Indian corn are cultivated to a great extent. Carrots, onions, parsnips, beets, celery, and most other kitchen herbs, are produced with ease. The grains cultivated by the farmers are summer and winter wheat, rye, buckwheat, barley, and oats. The natural forests are elm, cherry, white, black, yellow and gray birch, red oak, beech, white and yellow pine, white, red and black spruce, maples, &c.

The forests of Nova Scotia abound in good timber: pine and birch, oak, beech, ash and maple, are the most common trees; and many of the inhabitants have, for years, been supported by the timber trade. The principal wild animals in the province are the moose deer, carribboo, bear, loup-cervier, fox, martin, otter, mink, and squirrel. Hunting and trapping were once extensively pursued; but the decrease of animals has obliterated these employments from the industrial means of Nova Scotia. The fisheries employ many families, but the chief and most profitable pursuit is mining, the value of coal alone amounts annually to near $800,000.

Gypsum, which abounds in the western districts, is highly-prized in the United States as a manure; and a stone, which is extremely well-adapted for grind-stones, and is celebrated all over America under the appellation of "Nova Scotia blue-grits," is found in many parts. The exports of these articles alone have been estimated at the value of $100,000.

The manufactures are unimportant, and as a general thing come under the denomination of "home-spun." Grist and saw-mills are numerous; besides which, there are several breweries and tan-yards.

The geographical position of Nova Scotia gives it great commercial advantages, and its trade, especially with the United States, has been for some years steadily on the increase. The exports, chiefly to Canada, Great Britain and the United States, consist of fish-oil, timber, coals, &c. The trade principally centres in Halifax.

The means of internal communication are on a respectable footing, and improvements in this respect are being rapidly made. Water communication is also on a good scale, the natural facilities being augmented by canals in one or two locations. They are fairly supported by the legislature, and the inhabitants of each district are compelled to furnish, either