The Province has 259 steam vessels, with a tonnage of 44,550; and 289 sailing vessels, with a tonnage of 55,058. There are 5 vessels with 14 men, and 1,129 boats with 2,101 men and 928,008 fathoms of nets engaged in the 681 fisheries. Product for 1881: herring, 15,605 barrels; whitefish, 38,301 barrels; trout, 55,497 barrels; other fish, 18,817 barrels; fish oil, 1,629 gallons.
Population of the Province, 1881, 1,923,228; male, 976,461; female, 946767
Number of churches, 5,075: of which 2,375 are Methodist, 852 Presbyterian, 680 Church of England, 389 Baptist, and 367 Roman Catholic. There are 21 hospitals, and 22 orphanages. Number of colleges and universities, 17; boarding schools, 44.
There is an excellent system of free schools under the control of a Minister of Education and a Chief Superintendent. School pop., 405,857. Number of high schools, public and private, 410; public elementary schools, 5,313. Number miles of railway in the Province, 5223
QUEBEC.Kwe-bek´.
One of the most important of the Canadian Provinces. Earliest settlement made by Europeans, in 1541; first permanent settlement made by the French on the present site of the city of Quebec, 1608. Country occupied by the French until 1759, when, through the victory of Gen. Wolfe, it fell into the hands of the English.