| 1860. | 1870. | |
| Fishing Establishments, | 89 | 176 |
| Barrels of Mackerel cured, | 7,163 | 16,047 |
| Barrels of Herrings or Alewives, | 22,416 | 16,831 |
| Quintals of Codfish or Hake, | 39,776 | 15,649 |
| Gallons of Fish Oil, | 17,609 | 11,662 |
| Boats owned for fishing, | 1,239 | 1,183 |
| Men engaged in fishing, | 2,318 | 1,646 |
In 1870 the total number of schools in the three counties was 372; and of scholars, 15,000. In 1874 the number of schools was 403; of scholars, 18,233. The salaries of teachers range from $113.56 to $324.44,—only about twenty teachers receiving the larger sum,—an allowance which cannot, by any possibility, command the necessary talent, and which must be increased if the educational system is to be put on a proper basis.
The manufactures of the island are such as promise further development. The importance of diminishing the import of articles which can be produced cheaply on the island as elsewhere cannot be overestimated. Merchants who send money from the island to procure manufactured goods which they can obtain to equal advantage at home are enemies to the material progress of the island. Is furniture required? Men like Messrs. John Newson, Mark Butcher, or John E. Ferguson can supply it. Are carriages or wagons needed? Visit Messrs. McKinnon & Fraser’s establishment, or that of Messrs. J. & R. Scott. Are castings needed? Messrs. McKinnon & McLean, or Mr. Edward Morrisey can accommodate customers. Are window-sashes or similar woodwork in request? Lee & Gale are prepared to execute orders. Is tobacco required? Messrs. Hickey & Stewart and Charles Quirk produce a superior article. Are mowing-machines needed by our farmers? Mr. Archibald White makes them in great numbers and of excellent design and quality. Is well-made cloth required? It can be supplied in abundance by the manufacturing establishment of Mr. John D. Reid, Tryon. The men of whom these and similar firms consist are practical tradesmen, who are not ashamed to earn their bread by the sweat of their brow, and who naturally look to their fellow-islanders for that support to which their skill and enterprise entitle them.
The railway, under the management of Mr. McKechnie, prospers beyond the most sanguine expectations of its promoters. It was opened in the month of April, 1875. We give a statement of traffic earnings from the date of its opening till the close of August, 1875:—
| No. Passengers. | Amount. | Freight. | Mails. | Express. | Total. |
| 47,847 | $35,655 | $14,381 | $1,737 | $1,391 | $53,164 |
Mr. Stronach manages the mechanical department efficiently, and the amount paid annually in wages is such as confers signal benefit on Charlottetown.
One word about Charlottetown. If the city were to represent the intelligence and enterprise of the fair and fertile isle of which it is the capital, it would be celebrated in the Dominion for the excellence of its sidewalks, its copious supply of water, its thorough system of drainage, and the delightful salubrity of its atmosphere. Since our arrival on the island, our head has been more than once in danger of coming into violent contact with the dilapidated wooden structure beneath. “I smell you in the dark,” said Johnson to Boswell, as they walked on one of the then unwatered and undrained streets of Edinburgh, and certainly, the redolence of Charlottetown can hardly with truth be said to be elysian. The return of Mr. William Murphy, the representative of pure water, to a civic seat, from which he ought never to have been ejected, augurs that the legislative and municipal steps already taken to furnish a remedy for evils which can no longer exist without injury to the health of the inhabitants, will lead to a speedy consummation devoutly to be wished; and then Charlottetown will stand, in the estimation of tourists, in the position which its natural advantages warrant.
In hotel accommodation, the extensive and well-equipped Island Park Hotel of Mr. Holman, which we visited, is a credit to the island. The hotel of Mr. John Newson, at Rustico, is also well reported; and we are given to understand that Miss Rankin, determined that Charlottetown should no longer lag behind the times, is about to have a handsome house erected in a most suitable locality. A few first-class hotels will not only be mutually profitable to the owners, but also beneficial to respectable houses of all grades.
A Return of the Inhabitants on the Island of Saint John, taken in April, 1798, by order of His Excellency Governor Fanning, &c., &c., &c.: By Robert Fox, Deputy Surveyor. [K]