308 THE BRITISH EMPIRE: — BRITISH COLUMBIA
of the province contains belts of forests along the rivers and lakes, consisting of spruce, pine, Cottonwood, and poplar serviceable for merchantable timber.
The lakes of the province abound in several species of fish, but the industry is not developed to any great extent. The number of men engaged in 1916-17 was 714; the number of boats 406; catch of fish was 31,789 cwts. ; value, 144,317 dollars.
Manufacturing has just begun in the province. Flour, oat-meal, cement, and linseed oil mills, pork and beef packing houses, factories with outputs oi products in clay, brass and iron, glass and wood, have been established and are in many instances already extending their plants.
Statistics of manufactures for 1918 : number of industrial establishments, 1,252; capital, 61,405,000 dollars; number of employees, 10,837; salaries and wages, 10,127,000 dollars; cost of materials, 54,640,000 dollars; value of products, 82,219,000 dollars.
Commerce and Communications. — The principal exports of the pro- vince consist of grain, fat cattle, hogs, hams and bacon, fish, butter, and coal.
Length of railway lines 4,650 miles at end of 1919. A provincial government system of telephones covers most of the province. It has 25,290 miles long distance line, and 223 exchanges. There are 38 privately owned party lines.
Books of Reference.
Annual Reports of the following Departments : — Agriculture, Education, Provincial Secretary, Public Works, Municipalities, Railways and Telephones, Estimates, Public Accounts.
Bulletin, Fifth Census of Canada (Agriculture of Alberta), Census of Prairie Provinces, 1916, (Alberta).
The New North- West (Department of Interior), Ottawa.
The Unexploited West (Department of Interior), Ottawa.
Bickersteth ( J. B.), The Land of Open Doors: Experience of Pioneer Work in North- west Canada. London, 1914.
Boam (H. J.) and Brown (A. G.), The Prairie Provinces of Canada. London, 1914.
Thwaite(h.), Alberta. London, 1912.
Set also nnder Canada.
BRITISH COLUMBIA.
Constitution and Government. — Previous to 1858 British Columbia, then known as New Caledonia, formed a portion of the Hudson's Bay Company's concession, but in that year it was constituted a Crown Colony, owing to the large immigration consequent on the discovery of gold in 1856. Vancouver Island was leased to the Hudson's Bay Company in 1843, and was made a Crown Colony in 1849, being the first British colony to be established in North-West America. In 1866 the Colonies of British Columbia and Vancouver Island were united, and on July 20th, 1871, British Columbia entered the Canadian Confederation, and is represented by 5 members in the Senate, and 13 in the House of Commons of Canada.
The Provincial Covernment is administered by a Lieutenant-Governor and Legislative Assembly of 47 members on the system of executive administration known as a "responsible government." The Assembly is elected for four years, every adult, male or female (British subjects), having resided six months in the Province, duly registered, being entitled to vote.
Lieutenant-Governor. — W. C. Nichol.
The members of the Ministry (appointed March, 1918) are as follows : —
Premier and Minister tf Jiailways and President of the Council. — Hon. John Olivtr.
