The imports and exports of Nova Scotia for 1849, 1850, and 1851 are shown comparatively as follows: The various articles of the growth, produce, and manufacture of the United States imported into Nova Scotia in 1851 were of the estimated value of $886,940, and they paid provincial duties amounting in the aggregate to $64,727. The principal articles of colonial produce, growth, and manufacture exported to the United States of America in 1851 were of the following description and value: During the year 1851, one hundred and six American vessels, of the aggregate burden of 15,901 tons, entered inward in the various ports of Nova Scotia, of which number 91 vessels, 13,032 tons, cleared again with cargoes for the United States, and the remaining 15 took cargoes for foreign ports. The number of vessels owned and registered in the province of Nova Scotia, on the 31st December, 1850, is thus stated: 2,791 vessels, 168,392 tons. The fisheries on the colonial coasts have been prosecuted to a greater extent by the people of Nova Scotia, except Newfoundland, than by those of any other colony. The following table, compiled from official returns, is of some importance at this time to the fishing interests of the United States. *See note, end of Part IX. The number of vessels employed in the fisheries of Nova Scotia in 1851 was 812, of the burden of 43,333 tons, manned by 3,681 men, The number of boats engaged was 5,161, manned by 6,713 men. The number of nets and seines employed was 30,154. The catch of the season was as follows: The total value of the above products of the fisheries is stated at $869,080; to which must be added 189,250 gallons of fish oil, valued at $71,016. The total value of the fisheries undoubtedly greatly exceeds a million of dollars. The census taken in this province during the past year (1851) gives the total population at 276,117 souls. In this total are included 1,056 Indians, and 4,908 colored persons. The number of births in 1850 was 8,120; the number of deaths 2,802; of marriages 1,710. It appears that there are in the province 1,096 schools, with an aggregate of 31,354 scholars. The religious denominations are thus classed: The whole number of churches in the province is 567. The number of inhabited houses is stated at 41,453; of uninhabited houses 2,028; of houses building 2,347; of stores, barns, and outhouses 52,758. The probable value of real estate is stated by the census return at $32,203,692. It appears that there are in Nova Scotia no less than 40,012 acres of diked land. This is chiefly on the upper part of the Bay of Fundy, and is celebrated for its enduring fertility. It is estimated to be worth, on the average, about $60 per acre. The quantity of improved upland is stated at 799,310 acres. The grain and other crops, in 1850, were as follows: The products of the dairy, in 1850, are stated at 3,613,890 pounds of butter and 652,069 pounds of cheese. There are 1,153 saw-mills in the province, which employ 1,786 There are also 398 grist-mills, which employ 437 men. There are, besides, 10 steam-mills, or factories, 237 tanneries, 9 foundries, 81 carding and weaving establishments, 17 breweries and distilleries, and 131 other manufacturing establishments of various kinds. The whole quantity of coals raised in the province, in 1850, is stated at 114,992 chaldrons. There were 28,603 casks of lime burned and very nearly three millions of bricks manufactured. The quantity of gypsum quarried was 79,795 tons; the quantity of maple sugar made, 110,441 pounds. THE PORT OF HALIFAX. Latitude, 44° 39' north; longitude, 63° 36′ west; magnetic variation, 15° 3' west; rise and fall of tide, 7 to 9 feet. It is alleged that the harbor of Halifax has not, perhaps, a superior in any part of the world. It is situate nearly midway between the eastern and western extremities of the peninsula of Nova Scotia, and, being directly open to the Atlantic, its navigation is but rarely impeded by ice. From the Atlantic the harbor extends inland for fifteen miles, terminating in a beautiful land-locked basin, where whole fleets may ride in good anchorage. The entrance to Halifax harbor is well lighted, and buoys are placed upon all the shoals. A fine, deep channel stretches up behind Halifax, called the Northwest Arm, which renders the site of the city a peninsula. The town is built on the declivity of a hill, which rises gradually from the water's edge; its length is more than two miles, and breadth nearly a mile, with wide streets crossing each other at right angles. As the port at which the Cunard mail-steamers touch, on their voyages to and from Europe, and as the proposed terminus of the great railway from Quebec to the Atlantic, in connexion with those and other steamers, Halifax bids fair to become a place of very considerable commercial importance. The nature and extent of its trade and commerce, at the time, will be best understood by the tables which follow. present The value of imports and exports at the port of Halifax, in 1850, is thus stated: The ships inward and outward, in 1850, are thus stated: Countries. Sailing vessels. Steam vessels. Sailing vessels. Steam vessels. |