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1910 New Catholic Dictionary
• Halifax, Nova Scotia, Archdiocese of
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1911 Encyclopedia Britannica
• Nova Scotia
• Truro, Nova Scotia
McClintock and Strong's Bible Encyclopedia
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• Nova Scotia

a province of the Dominion of Canada, situated between lat. 43°; 26' and 47° 5' N., and long. 590 40' and 660 25' W. It consists of the peninsula of Nova Scotia and the island of Cape Breton, separated from it by the Strait of Canso, one mile wide. The peninsula, inclusive of the adjoining islets, is situated between lat. 43° 26' and 460 N., and long. 61° and 66° 25' W. It is bounded on the north by Northumberland Strait, separating it from Prince Edward Island, and by the Gulf of St. Lawrence, on the north-east by the Strait of Canso, on the south-east and south-west by the Atlantic Ocean, and on the north-west by the Bay of Fundy and New Brunswick, with which it is connected by an isthmus 14 miles wide, separating Northumberland Strait from the Bay of Fundy. It is 260 miles long from north-east to south-west, and 65 miles in average breadth. Its area, according to the Canadian census of 1871, is 16,956 square miles, and that of Cape Breton is 4775 square miles; of the entire province 21,731 square miles. The capital, commercial metropolis, and largest city is Halifax, with 29,582 inhabitants in 1871. The population of the province in 1784 was about 20,000. Later it has been as follows: 1806, 67,515; 18i7, 91,913; 1827, 142,578; 1-838, 208,237; 1851, 276,117; 1861, 330,857; 1871, 387,800, of whom 75,483 resided on Cape Breton; in 1881 it was 440,572. Of the total population in 1871, 351,360 were born in the province, 3413 in New Brunswick, 3210 in Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland, 577 in other parts of British America, 2239 in the United States, and 25,882 in the British Isles, of whom 14,316 were natives of Scotland, 7558 of Ireland, and 4008 of England and Wales; 130,741 were of Scotch, 113,520 of English, 62.851 of Irish, 32,833 of French, 31,942 of German, 6212 of African, 2868 of Dutch, 1775 of Swiss, and 112 of Welsh origin, and 1666 were Indians (Micmacs and Malicetes). The entire province has a coastline, pot counting indentations of land, of 1170 miles. The shores of the peninsula are indented with a great number of excellent bays and harbors, and between Halifax and the Strait of Canso alone there are twentysix commodious havens, twelve of which will accommodate ships of the line. Stretching along the Atlantic sea-board, and extending inland from it for about twenty miles,. is a range of highlands, and about 60 miles from the Atlantic coast are the Cobiquid Mountains, 1100 feet in height, which traverse the peninsula from the Bay of Fundy to the Strait of Canso. The soil in the valleys is rich and fertile, producing all the fruits of temperate climates; and, especially in the north, the uplands are also fertile. The climate is remarkably healthy, its rigor being modified by the insular character of the province and by the influence of the Gulf. Stream. The mean temperature for the year is 42.09° at Pictou, and 43.6° at Windsor. The extreme limits of the thermometer may be stated at 15° Fahr. in winter, and 95° in the shade in summer. The province abounds in mineral riches, including gold, coal, and iron. Of the entire area of the colony, 10,000,000 acres are considered good land, and of these 1,028,032 are under cultivation. The principal agricultural products are hay, wheat, barley, buckwheat, oats, rye, Indian .corn, potatoes, and turnips. The waters around the colony abound in fish, as mackerel, shad, herring, salmon, etc., and the fisheries are pursued with,ardor and with increasing success.

Religious Status. — The Church of England is recognised by the ancient laws of the province as the Established Church. This legal recognition was effected in 1758; but though various civil enactments, as to the limits of parishes, appointment of church-wardens and vestrymen, were obtained thereby, nothing beyond the mere name of an establishment has for many years existed. The permanent endowment of Windsor College, under the exclusive control of this Church, has been discontinued by the state; so that, in effect, the only privilege which remains of a distinctive nature is that the bishop retains, ex-officio a seat in the legislative council of the province. The number of adherents to this Church in 1881 was 60,255. The list of clergy contains one bishop, one archdeacon, besides ordained missionaries and travelling missionaries. These are located in forty different towns and settlements. Four of the clergy are connected with Windsor College, three with Halifax Grammar School, and one is an agent for the Colonial Church and School Society. Until recently large annual remittances for the support of the clergy and college professors had been received from the British Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts, and even, it is understood, from grants of the Imperial Parliament of Great Britain and Ireland. The foreign aid is now greatly curtailed, and will, it is expected, in the course of a few years altogether cease. The effect of this change of policy has been far from disastrous. A large portion of the wealth of the province is found within the pale of this Church, and nothing is wanting to secure permanent and growing prosperity but the prudent management of its internal resources. Already this has been tested in the endowment secured by subscription for Windsor College (£10,000), and in the efforts made to sustain in thorough efficiency the Diocesan Society and the Foreign District of the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge.

Under the general title of Presbyterians are grouped the adherents of three distinct churches, who, though holding the same standards, are yet quite independent in Church government. Their ground of separation depends entirely upon their respective origin. They have all descended from the Presbyterian churches of Scotland, and hold the distinctive principles of what are there denominated Kirk, Free Church, and United Presbyterian. The oldest, largest, and most influential of these bodies in Nova Scotia is that which arose from the-two secession churches, Burgher and Anti- Burgher. A union was happily effected between the adherents of these and of all the Presbyterians in Nova Scotia in the year 1817. Only one Presbyterian minister remained aloof, and he was personally favorable, while his congregation, being originally independent, was unfavorable to the union. The first Presbyterian missionaries arrived in Nova Scotia in 1766, but no permanent location was made before 1771. The first presbytery was formed in 1786, under the designation of Presbytery of Truro. Nine years afterwards another was formed in Pictou, and so designated. At the period of the union above referred to there were three presbyteries, comprising in all nineteen ordained ministers and twenty-five congregations. The great impediment all along experienced by this Church has been the difficulty of obtaining an adequate supply of ministers from the parent churches in Scotland. In 1816 a society was formed to procure the establishment of an academy for the training of native youth for the ministry and other learned professions. The basis proposed was sufficiently liberal to unite all dissenting bodies, and the means of support was to be endowed by the state. This effort was for a time apparently successful, but never so much so as to acquire the character of permanency. Ultimately it became a bone of contention, introduced bitter animosity and religious hate into the surrounding community, and became a watchword for political party, so as to form an effectual hinderance to ecclesiastical union on the part of the different Presbyterian bodies. Eventually all connection with this institution was abandoned by the Presbyterian Church of Nova Scotia, and then it became a matter of dire necessity .with that Church to provide and maintain an educational institute out of her own resources. Several years, however, elapsed before this step was taken. In 1848 measures were initiated with a view to the erection of a theological seminary, as preparatory to the divinity hall. The Free Church Presbyterians sustain a college at Halifax, also an academy and a theological hall. Altogether the Presbyterians are the most powerful body in the province (see statistical table below).

The Baptists have been nearly as long in the country as the Presbyterians. They have met with much success in the province, and rank third in numbers among the different religious bodies. They support a college and several elementary schools, and send missionaries to foreign parts. The Wesleyan Methodist body was started by missionaries from the mother country as early as 1769. No permanent organization was effected until 1786. A theological school is supported by them, and many academies and one college. The Congregational Church started as early as any of the foregoing, but its success has been very limited thus far.

The following table, from the census of 1881, gives the number of adherents of the principal denominations:

Of the Baptists 19,032 are Free-will Baptists, and "the Methodists 38,683 are Wesleyans. Among the miscellaneous are included 4958 Lutherans, 2538 Congregationalists, 1555 Christian Conference, 869 Adventists, 647 Universalists, and 128 Bible Believers. Besides the denominational efforts of each of these evangelical bodies, they severally unite in general schemes of benevolence and Christian philanthropy. The Nova Scotia Bible Society, and other auxiliaries of the British and Foreign Bible Society, enlist the sympathies of all but the Baptists, and are very generally supported. The Halifax Naval and Military Bible Society is in like manner dependent upon the Christian public generally. The Micmac Missionary Society, while its principal agent and missionary is Baptist, meets with the countenance and support of all classes. The Nova Scotia Sabbath Alliance consists of the leading ministers and members of all the leading Protestant denominations in Halifax.

Educational Status. — Nova Scotia has a system of free public schools, organized in 1864. The schools are Under the general supervision of the provincial superintendent of education, with inspectors for the several counties, and are immediately managed by boards of commissioners for the counties, and of trustees for the different sections or districts. The number of schools in operation during the summer term ending Oct. 31, 1874, was 1673; number of teachers, 1744 (602 males and 1142 females); number of pupils registered, 79.910; average daily attendance, 46,233; number of different children some portion of the year ending on the above date, 93,512 (48,604 males and 44,908 females); number of school sections, 1932, of which 210 had no school any portion of the year; value of school property, $830,926 41; number of pupils for whom accommodation is provided, 88,258. Included in the above figures are ten county academies, with 45 teachers and 2614 pupils enrolled during the year. Aid was granted from the provincial treasury to four especial academies, having 14 teachers and 370 pupils, and also to Mount Allison male and female academies in New Brunswick. There are five colleges, as follows, with their statistics for 1874:

These receive small grants from the provincial treasury, as does also Mount Allison College in New Brunswick. In Dalhousie University a medical department was organized in 1868, which in 1874 had 11 professors and 29 students. In Halifax is situated the theological department of the Presbyterian Church of the lower provinces of British North America. The Halifax School of Medicine was incorporated in 1873. The provincial normal and model schools are at Truro. The number of teachers in the normal school in 1874 was 4; of pupils, 118. In the model school there were 9 teachers and about 550 pupils. The census of 1871 enumerates five young ladies' boarding-schools, with 146. pupils. The total expenditure for educational purposes in 1874 was $619,361 87, viz.: public schools, $552,221 40; normal and model schools, $4733; special academies, $26,970; colleges, $35,337 47. Of these sums, $175,013 65 was derived from the provincial treasury, viz.: for public schools, $157,480 65; for normal and model schools, $4733; for special academies, $6800; for colleges, $6000. Of the expenditure for public schools, $107,301 39 was derived from county tax, and $287,349 30 from taxation in the different school sections. The number of newspapers and periodicals published in the province in 1874 was 38, viz.: 4 daily, 5 tri-weekly, 24 weekly, 1 biweekly, and 4 monthly.

History, etc. — Nova Scotia is supposed to have been visited and "discovered" by the Cabots in 1497. Its first colonists were a number of Frenchmen, who established themselves here in 1604, but were afterwards expelled by settlers from Virginia, who claimed the country by right of discovery. Under the French settlers it bore the name of Acadia (Acadie); but its name was changed for the present one in 1621, when a grant of the peninsula was obtained from James I by Sir William Alexander, whose intention was to colonize the whole country. Having found, however, that the localities they had fixed upon as suitable for settlement were already occupied, the colonists returned to the mother country. In 1654 the French, who had regained a footing in the colony, were subdued by a force sent out by Cromwell. By the. treaty of Breda the country was ceded to the French in 1667, but it was restored to the English in 1713. After the middle of the 18th century strenuous efforts were made to advance the interests of the colony. Settlers were sent out at the expense of the British government. The French, who had joined the Indians in hostilities against the English, were either expelled or completely mastered; and Cape Breton, which at an earlier period had been disunited from Nova Scotia, was reunited to it in 1819. Nova Scotia was incorporated with the Dominion of Canada July 1, 1867, and is represented in its Senate by 12 senators, each of whom must be a citizen thirty years of age, and possessed of an income of $4000 in the province. Nineteen representatives sit in the Canadian Parliament for Nova Scotia. Nova Scotia has also its own provincial Parliament and lieutenant- governor. See Haliburton, Historical and Statistical Account of Nova Scotia (Halifax. 1829); Martin, History of Nova Scotia, etc. (London, 1837); Akins, Selections fromn the Public Documents of the Province of Nova Scotia (Halifax. 1869); Amer. Cyclop. s.v.; Blackwood's lMag. 1854, 1:12; 1866, 2:158; Anderson, Hist. Cl. Church (see Index in vol. iii).