A HISTORY OF NEWFOUNDLAND.* BOTH on account of its geographical

situation, and from considerations of Imperial policy, the island of Newfoundland must evidently be destined to remain an appanage of the British Crown, of which it originally formed the earliest Colonial possession. Placed by Nature in a spot which entirely commands the estuary of the St. Lawrence at the outfall of that vast waterway which flows from the heart of the North-American continent, Newfoundland is the very key of the West. No European Power could safely hold the Dominion of Canada, with the United States on the one side and an alien Newfoundland on the other. For this reason the welfare of the island and its prosperity as a British Colony must, so long as Great Britain retains any traces of sovereignty in North America, be ever regarded by English statesmen as an object of especial solicitude.

Judge Prowse's very comprehensive work appears at a moment which is perhaps the most critical that has ever occurred in the history of the island; when the very existence of the system of self-government, which has now been enjoyed for nearly half a century, is trembling in the balance, and the fate of the Colony for many years, as a prosperous and thriving settlement, is manifestly at stake. The true reason for this unfortunate state of affairs is probably given by Judge Prowse with sufficient accuracy at p. 534 :—

" Merchants and politicians," he says, "on both sides have helped to bring the unfortunate Colony into disrepute, by the fierce rancour and bitter personal hate which characterised their party struggles ; in their mad desire for revenge on each other, true patriotism disappeared, and the vital interests of our unfor- tunate Colony were entirely ignored."

Whilst general sympathy will be felt by the people of this country with their Colonial brethren in such an unhappy plight, it is possible that our heartiest wishes for their renewed prosperity may be mingled with the feeling the the object-lesson there afforded may perhaps convey a certain warning to us at home.

In the first words of the introduction, Judge Prowse gives the scope of his very interesting volume :—" This work is an attempt to describe how England's first Colony, Newfoundland, was founded and developed." This attempt he has carried out with extraordinary diligence and research, and the wealth of material which has been gathered out of imprinted and almost inaccessible documents is fairly surprising. To the student of Colonial questions these materials must prove of the greatest value ; whilst to the general reader the quaint incidents of a rough civilisation, and the very interesting collection of illustrations which embellish the volume, must certainly repay attentive perusal.

The history of the island is principally concerned with ques- tions relating to fish and fishing. It was first discovered in 1497 by John Cabot, and was forthwith made the resort of fishermen of several European countries ; Great Britain, France, Spain, and Portugal, amongst the number. From that date until 1610 "it was a kind of no-man's.land, without

• A History of Newfoundland. By D. W. Prowse, Q.0., Judge of the Central District Court of Newfoundland. London: Macm Bari and Co. 1895.

law, religion, or Government ; " and it was not until a few years later that serious attempts at colonisation were made, both by Great Britain and by France. The story of the struggle between these two countries for supremacy in New- foundland and for control over its fisheries is well told in Judge Prowse's pages. It resulted in the exclusive sovereignty of Great Britain over Newfoundland being recognised in 1713 by the treaty of Utrecht, which was subsequently con- firmed by the treaty of Paris. The French, however, retain to this day, as a relic of their ancient sovereignty, the islands of St. Pierre and Miquelon, —and certain rights of fishing on the western shores of Newfoundland, which have for more than a century formed a constant ground for disputes and discussions between the two countries. The French claim that the fishing-rights conceded to them are exclusive ones, and press this view to such an extent that, if admitted, it would practically prevent all development of the western shore. Great Britain, however, has never admitted the French contention to this extent; and out of this divergence of opinion has grown a diplomatic difficulty which seems as far off from solution at the present day as it was one hundred years ago.

Judge Prowse comes forward with a suggestion for the settlement of this question, which has puzzled the ablest statesmen and diplomatists for so many years. He suggests that the French should abandon their extreme contentions as to the exclusive nature of their fishing-rights on the Western Coast in exchange for the following concessions:— "(I) The French to have exclusive possession for the fishing season, within the three-mile limit around each harbour which they actually occupied with their fishing-ships and crews last season; (2) concurrent rights of fishing over the whole North-East Coast ; and (3) the right to purchase bait." The temper and heat which have, perhaps not unnaturally, been displayed by the Colonists at different periods in connection with this question, have frequently threatened to lead to serious complications with France, and we recognise with gratitude this attempt by a representative Newfoundland man to discuss the subject in a spirit of reasonable compromise and suggestion. It is certain that the French Transatlantic fishery is a failing industry, and is now probably artificially propped up by bounties more upon sentimental considerations than on any practical grounds of industrial advantage. It would seem, therefore, that if the question could be approached in such a temperate spirit of give-and-take, a solution should not be beyond the reach of diplomacy.

Apart from the struggle for supremacy with France, and from fishery disputes with that country and with the United States, the records of Newfoundland relate chiefly to ques- tions of development in the form of government ;—the "Fish- ing Admiral Period," from 1610 to 1711, "a dismal time," as Judge Prowse describes it, "of struggle between the Colonists and the Western adventurers or ship-fishermen from England;" the Colony under English Naval Governors from 1711 to 1825; and the modern era, with its struggle to emerge from the condition of a Crown Colony, resulting at last in the establishment of responsible Government, or autonomy, in 1855.

The island is at present administered by a Governor, aided by an Executive Council, over which he presides ; a Legislative Council of fifteen members, and a House of Assembly of -thirty-six members, elected by manhood suffrage. The area of the island is 40,200 square miles, and the population nearly two hundred thousand. To this must also be added Labrador, on the mainland, which, from Hudson's Strait to the Strait of Belle Isle, is included in the Colony of Newfoundland. The area of this tract is 120,000 square miles (about equal to that of the United Kingdom), and it contains a population of some four thousand souls, of whom nearly half are Eskimo, representing the only remains of the original races in the Colony,—the native Indians, a few of whom were still to be found until recently in the recesses of the island of New- foundland itself, having now entirely disappeared.

The principal industries of the Colony are, first and fore. most, fishing, comprising the cod, seal, lobster, salmon, and herring fisheries. The number of men engaged in this industry is about fifty thousand, with twelve hundred vessels and twenty thousand boats. Next in importance to the fishing business come the agricultural, lumbering, and mining in- dustries. Whilst the latter of these is no doubt capable of

considerable development, it is at present crippled by defective means of communication and of access to the shore. That, under favourable conditions, Newfoundland may have before her a prosperous future no one can doubt, but the pressing need of the moment is that she should emerge with re- established credit from her present financial embarrassments, which threaten seriously to endanger her progress and prosperity for some years to come. We wish that space per- mitted us to give more than a passing glimpse of the quaint descriptions of old-time island manners and customs as set forth in these attractive pages ; of the fisherman equipped in his long bib or " barvel," reaching from the neck to the toes, long boots, and a mob cap; of the picturesque surroundings of the fishery ; and of the revels with which successful ventures were crowned. Good stories, as well as solid facts, abound. Of these we select the following, given at p. 351 :—

"In 1780, one of the English squadron, H.M.S. Antelope,' Captain Keppel, RN., cruising on the banks, fell in with and captured the American armed packet, Mercury,' with Mr. Lawrence on board. As the vessels approached each other, a packet was thrown by Henry Lawrence, the American Envoy to Europe, from the American vessel ; a sailor from the English frigate dived overboard and brought up the package, which con- tained the secret negotiations then being carried on by the Americans with France and Holland. By the smartness of this plucky tar, England was put in possession of all the designs of her enemies."

Judge Prowse also tells at length the story of the " Halifax

Commission," an Arbitration established under the famous treaty of Washington, to determine the value to the United States of twelve years' fishing in the territorial waters of Canada and Newfoundland. Great Britain proved successful in this instance, and a sum of five-and-a-half millions of dollars in gold was awarded to her, out of which one million was received by the Colony of Newfoundland as her share.

We can confidently recommend a thorough study of these interesting pages to all in search either of information or amusement. They are replete with racy humour, knowledge of the subject treated, and occasional touches of serious reflection which are evidently the outcome of a very sincere thoughtfulness for the welfare of the Colony, of which the author is a native. The conclusion forced upon the reader of this history is, that Newfoundland will never be a really prosperous Colony until she has entered into confederation with the Dominion of Canada, and most heartily do we re-echo the words with which Judge Prowse concludes chap. xvi., —that soon " evil times will have passed, and our island, closely united with her prosperous younger sisters, will once again become a happy and contented New-found-land !"