The tract of country lying to the south-east of the St. Lawrence, on the borders of Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine, has of late years attracted many settlers, to whom it is known under the name of the Eastern Townships. The lands here are held in free and common soccage, and the English law prevails. The population of the townships is now about 50,000. Stanstead and Sherbrooke are the principal towns of this fine and flourishing region. On the south side of the St. Lawrence River are the neat and thriving villages of St. Thomas and Kamouraska; the former about 20 and the latter 90 miles below Quebec. Kamouraska is pleasantly situated, and much resorted to by the citizens of the capital for the benefit of sea-bathing.

The district of Gaspé remains to complete the description of Lower Canada. It is on the south side of the St. Lawrence, near its mouth, bordering on New Brunswick. It is a country of irregular and sometimes mountainous surface, containing numerous lakes, and watered by several rivers, of which the Restigouche is the principal. The territory is covered with dense forests, inhabited by 7000 or 8000 woodmen and fishermen, and exports some fish, oil, and timber. The cod-fishery employs 1800 men, and produces about 50,000 quintals of fish, and 20,000 barrels of oil; and about 4000 barrels of herrings, and 2000 of salmon are shipped for Quebec. Douglas, Bonaventure, and New Carlisle, are small villages of forty or fifty huts each.

NEW BRUNSWICK.

NEW BRUNSWICK is situated to the east of the State of Maine, and to the northwest of Nova Scotia, from which it is separated by the Bay of Fundy; on the north it has part of Lower Canada, the boundary between the two being the River Restigouche. It has, on the east, a winding coast along the Gulf of St. Lawrence, indented by navigable bays and inlets. The country, towards the seacoast and along the St. John's River, is level, but the western and northern parts are somewhat mountainous.

This colony is still almost one magnificent unbroken forest, and under the encouragement afforded by the mother country, almost all the energies of the inhabitants are directed to the lumber trade. The borders of the rivers, where cultivated, are fertile in grass and grain, though agriculture is not yet greatly advanced. The sea-coast abounds in cod and other fish; the River St. John's is thronged with herring, shad, and salmon. The fisheries are a source of considerable wealth and employment to the inhabitants; the produce of which being, with timber, the great staples of export.

The town of St. Johns, on a fine harbour at the mouth of the River St. John, is the most considerable place in New Brunswick. The population is about 10,000 in 1829 the exports from it were £210,000; being nearly two-thirds of the amount from all the other ports. St. Andrews, at the head of Passamaquoddy Bay, besides its timber trade, has a considerable fishery, and contains about 5000 inhabitants. Frederickton, the seat of government, is about 85 miles up the St. John's River, which being navigable for vessels of 50 tons, is the seat of a considerable inland trade; the population is 1800; it is rather regularly built of wood, with government offices, several churches, and a college.

The River Mirimichi is distinguished by the extensive forests on its banks, whence large shipments of timber are made, at the port of that name, as well as those of Chatham, Douglas, and Newcastle. This tract of country was, in October 1825, the scene of one of the most dreadful conflagrations on record. The flames, kindled by accident at several points at once, were impelled by a violent wind, and fed always with new fuel, till they spread over about 100 miles of territory, involving it in smoke and flame, and reducing to ashes the towns of Douglas and Newcastle; nearly 200 persons are said to have perished, and more than 2000 to have been reduced to entire destitution. The natural advantages of the country, however, have enabled them to recover with surprising rapidity. New

Brunswick was originally settled by German troops in the service of Great Britain, and hence its name. It was included in Nova Scotia until 1784. Dalhousie and Bathurst, on Chaleur Bay, and Liverpool, on the east coast south of Mirimichi Bay, are small villages.

NOVA SCOTIA.

NOVA SCOTIA was first settled by the French, and named by them Acadia. It was granted by James L. to Sir William Alexander, a Scottish nobleman, by whom it was called Nova Scotia; but was not confirmed to England until 1713. It included New Brunswick until 1784, when it was divided into two provinces. This colony is a large peninsula, bounded on the north by the narrow strait separating it from Cape Breton and Prince Edward's Islands, on the south-east by the Atlantic Ocean, and on the north-west by the Bay of Fundy, which penetrates so deep as to leave only an isthmus about nine miles broad, connecting it with New Brunswick.

Nova Scotia is about 280 miles long, and from 50 to 100 broad, comprising about 16,000 square miles, or upwards of 10,000,000 acres. The surface of the country is moderately uneven, and in some places hilly. The climate is cold, but healthy, and, with the progress of cultivation, is gradually ameliorating. Spring is late and irregular in its approach; but when vegetation commences, it is very rapid, and in a few days changes the whole face of nature. On the coast the soil is generally poor, but in the interior and northern parts it is well adapted to cultivation. Wheat and other grains are raised to some extent, and large quantities of the finest potatoes.

The population, in 1832, was, including Cape Breton, about 190,000. The inhabitants are about one-fourth Acadians, or descendants of the first French settlers; a fourth from Scotland, some Germans, 1200 free negroes, and some of the aboriginal race of Indians, who still adhere to their roaming and hunting habits; the remainder of the population are mostly from different parts of the British empire. The principal exports to Europe are timber and fish, and to the West Indies and the neighbouring States, timber, provisions, coal of fine quality, gypsum and freestone.

The administration of the colony is vested in a governor, council, and house of assembly. There are colleges at Halifax, Windsor, and Pictou; also numerous schools, partly supported by government, for the instruction of the lower classes. The religious denominations are Episcopalians, Presbyterians, Methodists, Baptists and Catholics.

Halifax is the capital, situated on one of the noblests harbours in the world, capable of containing any amount of shipping of any burthen. It was founded in 1749, by General Cornwallis, and has since carried on almost all the trade of the colony. During the impulse given to it by the last war, the population amounted to 12,000, but is now only 9000. The most extensive dock-yard in British America has been formed here, where a number of ships of the line and armed vessels are always lying, either stationed here or for repairs. A considerable number of troops are always in garrison, who, with the naval officers, give it the air of a military place. Lunenburg, the chief of the German settlements, contains a population of about 2000 inhabitants, and has a brisk trade. Liverpool also carries on a considerable trade; but Shelburn, which, at the end of the American revolutionary war, was the largest place in Nova Scotia, has sunk to a mere village. The north-eastern coast has Pictou, from which, and the neighbouring bays on this coast, is shipped the largest quantity of timber and coal. On a river falling into the Bay of Fundy, is Annapolis, the original French capital; but since the transference of the government to Halifax, it has sunk into a mere secondary place. The trade of this great bay is now carried on from Yarmouth, at its mouth, the population of which, since 1791, has risen from 1300 to 4500. Gypsum is the principal export.

Cape Breton is a large island, separated from Nova Scotia by St. George's Gulf and the Gut of Canseau, a great part of which is not more than a mile broad. The island is about 100 miles in length, and from 30 to 80 in breadth. It is penetrated by an arm of the sea, called the Bras d'Or, which divides it nearly into two equal portions, and is throughout navigable. The surface is diversified by hills, none of which rise above 1500 feet; and the soil is fully equal to that of the neighbouring countries. Only the coasts, including those of the Bras d'Or, have yet been cultivated; and the population in general is in a less improved state than in the other colonies. The climate resembles that of the neighbouring countries, in the intensity of the cold in winter and of the heat in summer; but these follow more irregularly, and a fortnight's thaw occurs often in the midst of frost and snow. Yet these variations are not disadvantageous to agriculture, which, however, is still in its infancy, the valuable cod-fishery attracting the chief industry of the people. Cape Breton, therefore, imports wheat flour, though it affords a small surplus of oats and potatoes. The exports, in 1828, consisted of 41,000 quintals of dry, and 18,000 barrels of pickled fish. About fifty vessels, averaging fifty tons each, are annually built. There are coal mines of great value. Cape Breton has excellent harbours, and commands, in a great measure, the navigation of the St. Lawrence. Of the population, exceeding 25,000, the most numerous portion consists of Scottish highlanders, and next to them of Acadians. The island was, in 1820, politically united to Nova Scotia, and sends two members to the house of assembly. Louisburg, which the French carefully fortified, and made one of the principal stations in their "New France," is now entirely deserted, and Sydney, a village of 1000 inhabitants, is all the capital which Cape Breton can boast. St. Peters, on the south coast, and Arechat, a small fishing-town on Isle Madame, are the other principal settlements.

To the south-east of Nova Scotia lies Sable Island, a dangerous sand-bank in the track of vessels sailing between Europe and America.

PRINCE EDWARD'S ISLAND.

PRINCE EDWARD's, formerly St. Johns, is a fine fertile island in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, lying nearly parallel to the coasts of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. It is 135 miles long and 34 broad. It is deeply indented by bays and inlets. The area is computed at 1,400,000 acres. The surface of the island is level, and varied only by gentle undulations. It has shorter winters than the neighbouring colonies, and is exempt from those extremes of heat and cold, and heavy fogs, which render them often so gloomy. The soil is good and well adapted to agriculture, especially wheat and oats, of which it affords a surplus. In 1768, the island contained only 150 families. The population is now 35,000, chiefly Scotch highlanders, and some Acadians, and English from Yorkshire. Charlottetown is the capital, with a population of 3500. There are several other small towns in the island: some of them are Georgetown, Belfast, Dartmouth, Prince Town, &c.

NEWFOUNDLAND.

THIS large island is 420 miles long and 300 broad, situated at the mouth of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, and is the most eastern part of North America. The interior of Newfoundland has never been thoroughly explored. It presents a bold and rocky shore, abounding in harbours. The soil is mostly barren, and the timber scanty and stunted, Some tracts, however, are supposed to be well fitted for pasturage. The climate is severe, and the country is frequently visited by dreary fogs and storms of sleet and snow.

This island owes its importance to its cod-fisheries, which are the most valuable in the world. The fish are taken singly, with baited hooks, upon the banks, which are shallow places, probably formed by the deposites of sand brought down from

the tropics by the gulf stream, which also bears down on its bosom countless millions of the animal on which the fish feed.

The Grand Bank of Newfoundland, situated to the eastward of the island, is the greatest submarine elevation known. It is from 500 to 600 miles in length, and in some places near 200 in breadth. Some distance farther from the Grand Bank, is the Outer Bank, or Flemish Cap, about 90 miles in length, by 50 wide; and to the westward are the Green and Whale Banks. These are the great rendezvous of the codfish, and form the fishing-ground for some 2500 to 3000 vessels, and from 35,000 to 40,000 Americans, English, and French, chiefly, however, the first and last. The banks are frequently enveloped in dense fogs from April to December.

So early was the value of the Newfoundland fisheries discovered, that in 1517, only twenty years after the first voyage, upwards of fifty vessels, of different nations, were found employed in it. The British soon took the most active part, and formed colonies on the island. Their sovereignty was acknowledged by the treaty of Utrecht, which reserved, however, to the French, the right of fishing on the banks. This was confirmed in 1763, when the small islands of St. Pierre and Miquelon were allowed to them to dry their fish. The Americans have the right to take fish at any three miles from the shore, and to dry them on any of the neighbouring coasts unoccupied by British settlers. The fishing season begins in April and ends in October: the business is lucrative, dangerous, and an admirable nursery for our hardy and adventurous seamen, and furnishes one of the considerable elements of our trade. Many English and French vessels are here in company. Every part of the process, from taking the hungry animals from the water, and curing the fish and delivering it in all parts of the world, is specific, and employs its specific process. The English and French dry their fish on the islands. We bring great portions of ours, pickled, to our own ports, and dry them there, particularly at Marblehead, Gloucester, and Beverly. A great number of acres around those towns are covered with the flakes or scaffolds on which those fish are dried. A vessel with twelve men usually takes from 20,000 to 50,000 fish. The whole employment not only rears thousands of men to consider the sea their home, and storms their element, but many other thousands are employed in the business to which this gives birth; and our share of the business, in good years, amounts to some millions of dollars. Nothing can be more unique than the modes of life of these men, whose abode is on the sea. They are hale, healthy, honest, intrepid, and of reckless cheerfulness of character.

Newfoundland contains 80,000 inhabitants, almost entirely fishermen. St. Johns, the principal place in the island, is little more than a large fishing station, the whole shore being lined with wharves and stages for landing and drying fish. It is defended by several forts, one of which, Fort Townsend, is the residence of the governor. The houses are built mostly of wood. This construction exposed the town to a series of dreadful conflagrations, in 1816, 1817, 1818, and 1837. The stationary population of St. Johns is estimated at 11,000, but varies according to the season of the year.

The uninhabited island of Anticosti, in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, and the coast of Labrador, are dependencies on Newfoundland. Near its southern coast are the little islands of St. Pierre and Miquelon, belonging to France, and inhabited by fishermen.

In concluding our brief account of the British possessions in North America, we may remark that there appears no disposition on the part of the parent country to neglect or abandon them. Great Britain expends large sums in constructing military works for their defence, and lends her aid to numerous plans of settlement and improvement.

UNITED STATES.

THE UNITED STATES are the most interesting and important division of the western continent. They are distinguished for the excellence of their government, the rapid increase of the population, and for the intelligence, industry, and enterprise of the inhabitants. They occupy the most valuable and productive portion of North America, and rank amongst the most powerful commercial and wealthy nations of the globe.

The United States are situated between 24° 20′ and 54° 40′ N. latitude, and longitude 17° E., and 125° W. longitude, extending through 29 degrees of latitude and 58 degrees of longitude, and comprise a superficial area of upwards of 2,300,000 square miles. The frontier line has a length of 10,000 miles, of which about 3600 are sea-coast, and 1200 lake-coast. A line drawn across from the Atlantic to the Pacific, through the centre, is about 2500 miles in length.

So vast a region of course includes a great variety of surface, soil, and climate. It abounds in navigable rivers, and a large proportion of it is susceptible of cultivation, and is of a quality calculated to repay the labour bestowed upon it, more than almost any other region of the same extent in the world: but a small portion of its surface is occupied by mountains, which, from their height or ruggedness, forbid all attempts to render them productive in the means of subsistence to man. There are no great deserts, and few barrens; nothing like the vast sterile plains which exist in other parts of the world. The basins of the rivers are exceedingly productive: that of the Mississippi, including the Missouri, is undoubtedly the finest valley on the globe. It is abundantly watered by streams, which not only give fertility to their borders, but are ready to waft the gifts of the soil to the ocean, and bring back to the inhabitants the products of all other climes. The soil returns an ample harvest for all that is planted in it, and the climate is favourable to almost every production of the earth that can sustain life or increase its luxuries.

Though lying within the temperate zone, the United States embrace a great variety of climate. In the northern parts, the winters are long and severe; snow often falls to the depth of two or three feet, and the cold is so piercing as to oblige the inhabitants to make very diligent provision against it. Spring returns. here in April, and in summer the heat is great. In the southern parts of the country, snow is seldom seen, ice is rarely formed in the rivers, and those fruits which shrink from a northern climate, and flourish only in warm regions, are scattered over the soil. In Georgia, the inhabitants may collect the figs which grow before the windows, and may load their tables with oranges, lemons, and other exquisite fruits that grow in their gardens and groves, while in parts of Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont, even peaches will not flourish. Between these extremities, as in Virginia, Kentucky, Missouri, and Illinois, there is a region adapted to the wine-grape, which thrives best in places removed from both the torrid and frigid zones.

The United States are intersected by two principal and two subordinate ranges of mountains, the Rocky and Alleghany, the Ozark and Green Mountains. The Rocky Mountain, or Chippewayan range, forms the great dividing ridge of North America, separating the waters which flow in opposite directions, towards the great oceans which bound the opposite sides of the continent. They are situated at a medium distance of about 600 miles from the Pacific; the highest rise above the line of perpetual congelation, being estimated at about 12,000 feet in height. The Alleghany, or Appalachian range, runs in a north-easterly direction from the northern part of Alabama to New-York, stretching along in uniform ridges, at the distance of from 250 to 80 miles from the sea-coast, and following its general direction. It occupies in breadth a space of from 60 to 120 miles, and separates the waters which run into the Atlantic Ocean, from those which flow into the Mississippi and its tributaries. The highest elevation in this range, and the