the Fraser river. There is urgent need for the enactment of laws restricting the catch of salmon, as the industry is now seriously threatened. The fish oils are extracted chiefly from several species of dog-fish, and sometimes from the basking shark, as well as from the oolachan, which is also an edible fish.
The fur-seal fishery is an important industry, though apparently a declining one. Owing to the scarcity of seals and international difficulties concerning pelagic sealing in Bering Sea, where the greatest number have been taken, the business of seal-hunting is losing favour. Salmon fish-hatcheries have been established on the chief rivers frequented by these fish. Oysters and lobsters from the Atlantic coast have been planted in British Columbia waters.
Timber.—The province is rich in forest growth, and there is a steady demand for its lumber in the other parts of Canada as well as in South America, Africa, Australia and China. The following is a list of some of the more important trees—large leaved maple (Acer macrophyllum), red alder (Alnus rubra), western larch (Larix occidentalis), white spruce (Picea alba), Engellmann’s spruce (Picea Engelmanii), Menzies’s spruce (Picea sitchensis), white mountain pine (Pinus monticola), black pine (Pinus murrayana), yellow pine (Pinus ponderosa), Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga Douglasii), western white oak (Quercus garryana), giant cedar (Thuya gigantea), yellow cypress or cedar (Thuya excelsa), western hemlock (Tsuga mertensiana). The principal timber of commerce is the Douglas fir. The tree is often found 300 ft. high and from 8 to 10 ft. in diameter. The wood is tough and strong and highly valued for ships’ spars as well as for building purposes. Red or giant cedar, which rivals the Douglas fir in girth, is plentiful, and is used for shingles as well as for interior work. The western white spruce is also much employed for various purposes. There are about eighty sawmills, large and small, in the province. The amount of timber cut on Dominion government lands in 1904 was 22,760,222 ft., and the amount cut on provincial lands was 325,271,568 ft., giving a total of 348,031,790 ft. In 1905 the cut on dominion lands exceeded that in 1904, while the amount cut on provincial lands reached 450,385,554 ft. The cargo shipments of lumber for the years 1904 and 1905 were as follows:—
| 1904. Ft. |
1905. Ft. | |
| United Kingdom | 7,498,301 | 13,690,869 |
| South America | 15,647,808 | 13.332,993 |
| Australia | 10,045,094 | 11,596,482 |
| South Africa | 2,517,154 | 7,093,681 |
| China and Japan | 4,802,426 | 4,787,784 |
| Germany | 983,342 | |
| Fiji Islands | 308,332 | 29,949 |
| France | 1,308,662 | |
| ————— | ————— | |
| 42,199,777 | 51,515,100 |
There is a very large market for British Columbia lumber in the western provinces of Canada.
Agriculture.—Although mountainous in character the province contains many tracts of good farming land. These lie in the long valleys between the mountain ranges of the interior, as well as on the lower slopes of the mountains and on the deltas of the rivers running out to the coast. On Vancouver Island also there is much good farming land. The conditions are in most places best suited to mixed farming; the chief crops raised are wheat, oats, potatoes and hay. Some areas are especially suited for cattle and sheep raising, among which may be mentioned the Yale district and the country about Kamloops. Much attention has been given to fruit raising, especially in the Okanagan valley. Apples, plums and cherries are grown, as well as peaches, apricots, grapes and various small fruits, notably strawberries. All these are of excellent quality. Hops are also cultivated. A large market for this fruit is opening up in the rapidly growing provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan.
Imports and Exports.—For the year ending June 30th 1905 the total exports and imports (showing a slight gradual increase on the two preceding years) were valued at $16,677,882 and $12,565,019 respectively. The exports were classified as follows:—Mines, $9,777,423; fisheries, $2,101,533; forests, $1,046,718; animals, $471,231; agriculture, $119,426; manufactures, $1,883,777; miscellaneous, $1,106,643; coin and bullion, $171,131.
Railways.—The Pacific division of the Canadian Pacific railway enters British Columbia through the Rocky Mountains on the east and runs for about 500 m. across the province before reaching the terminus at Vancouver. A branch of the same railway leaves the main line at Medicine Hat, and running to the south-west, crosses the Rocky Mountains through the Crow’s Nest Pass, and thus enters British Columbia a short distance north of the United States boundary. This continues across the province, running approximately parallel to the boundary as far as Midway in what is known as the Boundary district. The line has opened up extensive coal fields and crosses a productive mining district. On Vancouver Island there are two railways, the Esquimalt & Nanaimo railway (78 m.) connecting the coal fields with the southern ports, and the Victoria & Sydney railway, about 16 m. in length. The Great Northern has also a number of short lines in the southern portion of the province, connecting with its system in the United States. In 1905 there were 1627m. of railway in the province, of which 1187 were owned or controlled by the Canadian Pacific railway.
Shipping.—The Canadian Pacific Railway Company has two lines of mail steamer running from Vancouver and Victoria: (l) the Empress line, which runs to Japan and China once in three weeks, and (2) the Australian line to Honolulu, Fiji and Sydney, once a month. The same company also has a line of steamers running to Alaska, as well as a fleet of coasting steamers.
Government.—The province is governed by a lieutenant-governor, appointed by the governor-general in council for five years, but subject to removal for cause, an executive council of five ministers, and a single legislative chamber. The executive council is appointed by the lieutenant-governor on the advice of the first minister, and retains office so long as it enjoys the support of a majority of the legislature. The powers of the lieutenant-governor in regard to the provincial government are analogous to those of governor-general in respect of the dominion government.
The British North America Act (1867) confederating the colonies, defines the jurisdiction of the provincial legislature as distinguished from that of the federal parliament, but within its own jurisdiction the province makes the laws for its own governance. The act of the legislature may be disallowed, within one year of its passage, by the governor-general in council, and is also subject to challenge as to its legality in the supreme court of Canada or on appeal to the juridical committee of the privy council of the United Kingdom. British Columbia sends three senators and seven members to the lower house of the federal parliament, which sits at Ottawa.
Justice.—There is a supreme court of British Columbia presided over by a chief justice and five puisne judges, and there are also a number of county courts. In British Columbia the supreme court has jurisdiction in divorce cases, this right having been invested in the colony before confederation.
Religion and Education.—In 1901 the population was divided by creeds as follows: Church of England, 40,687; Methodist, 25,047; Presbyterian, 34,081; Roman Catholic, 33,639; others, 40,197; not stated, 5003; total, 178,654. The educational system of British Columbia differs slightly from that of other provinces of Canada. There are three classes of schools—common, graded and high—all maintained by the government and all free and undenominational. There is only one college in the province, the “McGill University College of British Columbia” at Vancouver, which is one of the colleges of McGill University, whose chief seat is at Montreal. The schools are controlled by trustees selected by the ratepayers of each school district, and there is a superintendent of education acting under the provincial secretary.
Finance.—Under the terms of union with Canada, British Columbia receives from the dominion government annually a certain contribution, which in 1905 amounted to $307,076. This, with provincial taxes on real property, personal property, income tax, sales of public land, timber dues, &c., amounted in the year 1905 to $2,920,461. The expenditure for the year was $2,302,417. The gross debt of the province in 1905 was $13,252,097, with assets of $4,463,869, or a net debt of $8,788,228. These assets do not include new legislative buildings or other public works. The income tax is on a sliding scale. In 1899 a fairly close estimate was made of the capital invested in the province, which amounted to $307,385,000 including timber, $100,000,000; railways and telegraphs, $47,500,000; mining plant and smelters, $10,500,000; municipal assessments, $45,000,000; provincial assessments, $51,500,000; in addition to private wealth, $280,000,000. There are branch offices of one or more of the Canadian banks in each of the larger towns.
History.—The discovery of British Columbia was made by the Spaniard Perez in 1774. With Cook’s visit the geographical exploration of the coast began in 1778. Vancouver, in 1792–1794, surveyed almost the entire coast of British Columbia with much of that to the north and south, for the British government. The interior, about the same time, was entered by Mackenzie and traders of the N.W. Company, which in 1821 became amalgamated with the Hudson’s Bay Company. For the next twenty-eight years the Hudson’s Bay Company ruled this immense territory with beneficent despotism. In 1849 Vancouver Island was proclaimed a British colony. In 1858, consequent on the discovery of gold and the large influx of miners, the mainland territory was erected into a colony under the name of British Columbia, and in 1866 this was united with the colony of Vancouver Island, under the same name. In 1871 British Columbia entered the confederation and became part of the Dominion of Canada, sending three senators and six (now seven) members to the House of Commons of the federal parliament. One of the conditions under which the colony entered the dominion was the speedy construction of the Canadian Pacific railway, and in 1876 the non-fulfilment of this promise and the apparent indifference of the government at Ottawa to the representations of British Columbia created
