Page:EB1922 - Volume 31.djvu/1153

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NEWCASTLE-UPON-TYNE—NEWFOUNDLAND
1099

The Canadian Pacific also runs through the province, with a ter- minus at St. John, and the National Transcontinental from Winni- peg has its terminus at Moncton. By means of the C.P.R. and Maine Central the province has communication with the United States. Various lines of steamers run, chiefly from St. John, to American and Canadian ports. St. John is also one of the Atlantic ports for transatlantic lines of steamers. (W. L. G. *)

NEWCASTLE-UPON-TYNE (see 19.472). The pop. increased from 266,603 in 1911 to 274,955 in 1921. The borough returns four members to Parliament. To the list of degrees granted by the college of science incorporated with the university of Durham has been added a degree in commerce. During the World War the shipbuilding industry and the production of ordnance and ammunitions showed very marked activity and development.

NEWFOUNDLAND (see 19.478). The census of 1911 showed 242,619 inhabitants, including 3,949 residing in Labrador, an increase for the decade of 21,635, or 9-79%, against 9-37% for the previous decade. Denominationally the distribution was: Roman Catholic, 81,177; Church of England, 78,616; Methodist, 68,042; Salvation Army, 10,141; others, 4,643. The pop. of St. John's, the capital, was 32,292, a 9% increase. The Registrar- General's estimate of total pop. at end of 1919 was 264,569, but a reduction was expected for 1920 because of abnormal emigra- tion due to economic depression, the figures being: inward 10,996; outward 15,422.

Economic Conditions. Few countries prospered more during the decade 1910-20 than Newfoundland, thanks to increasing prices for her fishery products (especially during the war period, due to scarcity of food-stuffs in Europe, and despite the withdrawal of 10,000 young men from her industries to undertake active service with the army and navy) ; to the development of her pulp and paper industry and her iron mining; to the corresponding growth in sub- sidiary local industries, farming, logging, manufacturing, etc., and to the increased purchasing power of the people to which, besides the above factors, the war expenditure, some 15,000,000, or one- third of her total debt, contributed materially. Unfortunately this favourable condition no longer exists.

Finance. Each of the four years from 1917 showed a marked increase in revenue with a handsome surplus, that for 1918-9 being $2,853,000. The figures for 1919-20 were: revenue $10,597,- 575, expenditure $9,247,006, leaving a surplus of $1,350,509 not- withstanding that large additional grants were made to various public services because of the then existing prosperity. The public debt as at June 30 1920 was $43,993,035. The imports for 1919- 20 were $40,533,388, exports $34,855,447. Distribution of imports was: from Britain $4,637,074; Canada $18,767,238; United States $15,414,067; other countries $1,715,009. Distribution of exports was: to Britain $6,411,967; Canada $2,802,859; United States $4,426,142; other countries $21,424,479. Figures of revenue, imports and exports, represented a three-fold increase in the decade 191020 but imports from Britain remained almost stationary owing to proximity and more aggressive trade methods of the United States and Canada.

During the latter half of 1920 depression became manifest, emi- gration increased, business difficulties arose, fishery prices declined, imports lessened and the economic sky became overcast. Condi- tions in the spring of 1921 were very serious; customs revenue, representing nine-tenths of the total, had declined $2,500,000, roundly, in ten months; a shortage of nearly $2,000,000 for the fiscal year w.s feared; and financial embarrassments otherwise were thought to threaten the national solvency. This condition was due in part to world depression, but also to an attempt of the Government to enforce a policy of " control " over the marketing of codfish in foreign countries, by regulations fixing minimum prices for the sale of the commodity, and also restricting the times at which fish might be sent, the quantities forwarded and the terms of sale in different countries. This policy, after being operated from Nov. 1919 to Dec. 31 1920, or over part of two marketing seasons, was virtually abandoned. Its opponents contended that it was economically unsound, because it violated the law of supply and demand ; its advocates could only plead that because of world depression it did not have a fair chance to prove its merits. It was estimated that incidentally through falling markets in Greece, Italy, Spain, Portugal, West Indies and Brazil, where Newfound- land codfish principally goes, and the workings of the Government policy, losses estimated at $3,000,000 to $4,000,000 would be suffered in marketing the catch of 1920, valued at $12,000,000, causing heavy losses to banks, business people and others interested, and reacting seriously on the whole community.

Fisheries. The fisheries continue to be the mainstay of the country as in years gone by, and in 1921 still represented nearly 80% of the exports, furnishing $25,000,000 out of $28,000,000 for 1919-20, The chief is the codfishery, prosecuted mainly by boats, smacks and large schooners around the coast of the island, along the seaboard of Labrador, and off the Grand Banks, the product being salted and dried in the sun and exported in that condition. Attempts at the development of a cold-storage industry have been made, and a large warehouse for this purpose has been erected in St. John's. During the World War a cargo of cold-stored fish was taken to England by the auxiliary cruiser " Bayano " and was said to have given much satisfaction. Similar shipments were not con- tinued but regular liners plying to Britain enlarged their cold- storage capacity to take larger quantities; British capital was also introduced into the business, and the smoking of fish for the British .niarkets has been promoted as an important adjunct. The seal fishery has declined in scope in recent years, because of the with- drawal of several of the larger and more powerful steamers for war work, which have not returned, the loss of others through ocean perils, and the excessive cost of building new ships during the war. The fleet, moreover, met misfortune after 1918 for three successive seasons, and to induce the small flotilla of nine ships to operate in 1921 the Government removed all restrictions on the conduct of the industry, and a catch of 101,452 seals valued at $171,243 resulted, representing about two-thirds of a normal catch for such a fleet. The herring fishery, which enjoyed an increase in values like the codfishery during the later years of the war, suffered afterwards from the reaction caused by the competition from British and other markets not then active. The whale fishery had been gradually declining, and in 1920 no whalers operated at all owing to low prices for the products. The lobster-canning industry also declined, owing; to depletion of the species, which being slow in reproducing, suffered fro:n overfishing in the past. The Govern- ment inaugurated a campaign for better methods of curing and packing fishery products, hoping thereby to secure better prices. The value of the fishery products for 1919-20 was : codfish $23,274,- 666; cod-oils $2,162,724; seal-skins $170,331; seal-oils $262,353; herrings $1,235,864; lobsters $325,769.

Forest Resources. The forest areas are estimated at about 15,000 sq.m., and are chiefly used for making pulp and paper, as spruce is the main growth. Formerly pine was cut and exported, finding a good market in South America, but several areas were depleted and in more recent years the pine has been absorbed alto- gether by the local demand. The piper-making enterprise of Lord Northcliffe and his associates at Grand Falls midway through the interior, with about 3,500 sq.m. of territory, steadily expanded. In 1920 it produced 215 tons of newsprint paper daily, with 25 tons of ground-wood and 25 tons of sulphite pulp, and plans were being made for enlarging it to double its capacity. Pulp mills at Bishop Falls, 10 m. distant, formerly held by separate owners, were absorbed, and it was estimated that a pulp output of 200 tons daily would be manufactured at Grand Falls after the works were enlarged. A company with capital raised in Norway put under construction for starting operations in the autumn of 1921, mills on the Terranova river which empties into Bonavista Bay, which would produce 50 tons strong sulphite pulp daily. It con- trols an area of 1,250 sq.m., and was later expected to double this output. The export in 1920 was 19,864 tons of pulp valued at $334,276, and 80,719 tons of paper valued at $4,725,660. In ad- dition 292 saw-mills cut during the year, for local consumption, 2 5. 1 55.776 ft. of lumber, valued at $1,006,251.

Mineral Resources. Mining operations of late years have been devoted almost entirely to the winning of hematite iron from deposits at Bell I. in Conception Bay, 18 m. from St. John's, owned by the Dominion and Nova Scotia Steel Cos. and forming the basis of the proposed " British Empire Steel Corporation " into which these concerns are to be merged. Copper mines were worked in a small way until 1919, but after that, owing to various causes, nothing was done for two years, though a revival in this industry was expected. The Anglo-Persian Oil Co. contracted with the Government to begin during the summer of 1921 a scientific exploration of oil-bearing areas in the country and their practical working if warranted, and the Government undertook to develop coal beds on the W. coast to secure fuel, for the railway service, as all the coal required for every purpose in Newfoundland had had to be brought from the adjacent island of Cape Breton. In Newfoundland can be found evidences of the occurrence of almost all known minerals, but through lack of an efficient Geological Survey, and in consequence the want of prospecting and other researches in the interior, and because of the difficulty in attracting capital to the country, little progress had been made in developing them. In the past iron pyrites have been mined at Pilley Is., on the N. coast, chrome iron at points on the W. coast, silver-lead ore in Placentia Bay, coal at Grand Lake, in the interior, and petroleum at Parson's Pond on the N.W. seaboard; petroleum is still being worked and the produce is used at the gas works in St. John's. The export of iron ore for the five years to 1920 averaged 750,000 tons, valued for export purposes at about $1.25 per ton; 16,000 tons of copper ore, valued at $205,000, were shipped in 1916-7, but only one-third of this quantity was sent out in 19178.

Communications. In addition to the 614 m. of railway previously existing, the Morris Government in 1909 contracted for the construction of six branches, aggregating 354 miles. Four of these branches, totalling 277 m., were completed by 1917, but the