acres; and by squatters, 65,434 acres. The quantity of arable land then under cultivation was 215,389 acres. The crop of 1847 was as follows: wheat, 219,787 bushels; barley, 75,521 bushels; oats, 746,383 bushels; potatoes, 731,575 bushels; turnips, 153,933 bushels; clover-seed, 14,900 pounds; and hay, 45,128 tons. The quantity of potatoes in 1847 was much smaller than in previous years, owing to the prevalence of the potato rot that season. The stock of the island in 1848 was as follows: horses, 12,845; neat cattle, 49,310; sheep, 92,875; and hogs, 19,683. In that year there were in the island 109 churches, 182 school houses, 13 breweries and distilleries, 116 grist mills, 27 carding mills, 139 saw mills, and 246 threshing machines. In 1849 there were 88 new vessels built in this colony, of the burden of 15,902 tons; in 1850 there were 93 new vessels built, of the burden of 14,367 tons; in 1851 there were 89 vessels built, of the burden of 15,677 tons. A large proportion of the vessels built on this island are intended expressly for sale in Newfoundland, where they find a ready market, being well suited for sealing and the fisheries. On the 31st December, 1850, the number of vessels owned and registered in Prince Edward Island was 310, of the burden of 27,932 tons. On the 31st December, 1851, the vessels owned and registered in the island amounted to 323, of the burden of 31,410 tons. The extent of the import and export trade of this island will be best understood by the following comparative statement of the value of imports and exports in 1849 and 1850: The wide difference between the value of imports and that of exports is made up by the sale of new vessels in Great Britain and Newfoundland-an account of which cannot be ascertained. By a return published at Newfoundiand, it appears that in the year 1851, the number of new vessels built at Prince Edward Island, and sold in Newfoundland, was 16, of the aggregate burden of 1,921 tons; and that the sales of such vessels amounted to $55,316. The vessels inward and outward at Prince Edward Island in 1850 and 1851 are thus stated: Number of seamen inward, 2,082; number outward, 2,301. Number of seamen inward, 2,370; number outward, 3,631. The value of the exports of this Island colony in 1851 was as follows: The following is a statement of the quantity, rate, and amount of duty paid on all articles the growth, produce, or manufacture of the United States, imported into the colony of Prince Edward Island in 1851. Articles. Quantity. Rate of duty. Total duty. 728 barrels. 154....do.. 334....do.. 26.....do. 844 bbls. & 1,006 bags. 59.....do.. 11 packages. 42,103 pounds. Varnish and turpen tine... Wooden ware 25 packages. Sundries.. Total..... 5...do. 207 14,020 The total value of the articles on which the above duty of $14,020 was paid was $77,858, the whole of which was imported into Prince Edward Island in British vessels, with the exception of merchandise of the value of $3,200, in an American bottom. In 1850, the value of articles the growth, produce, and manufacture of the United States, imported into Prince Edward Island, was only $42,113, upon which duties were paid amounting to $6,420. The wide difference between the value of imports from the United States in 1850 and 1851, arises from the fact that in 1851 the duties on imports were greatly reduced from the rates of the preceding year, and hence the increased value of imports in 1851. With the high rate of duties in 1850, only $6,420 was received on articles of American production; while in 1850, with diminished rates, the duties on American production were increased to $14,020 in the aggregate. It is a fair inference, from this state of facts, that Prince Edward Island would take a much larger amount of American goods if the duties were still farther reduced, or if no duties whatsoever were levied on their importation. The articles exported in 1851 to the United States, of the growth or produce of the Island, were as follows: Barley, 17,929 bushels; boards and plank, 12,000 feet; iron, 60 cwt.; cattle, 9 head; firewood, 20 cords; dry fish, 650 quintals; pickled fish, 1,786 barrels; hard wood, 74 tons; horses, 3; hacmatac knees, 2,215; oats, 222,109 bushels; potatoes, 45,942, bushels; turnips, 3,090 bushels; wool, 1,700 pounds. The value of the foregoing, with the value of sundry other articles not enumerated, amounted together to $119,236. The value of similar articles exported to the United States in 1850 was only $55,886. It is obvious, therefore, that the increased import from the United States in 1851 was coupled with an increased export to the United States in that year. The following is a statement of the American vessels and their cargoes which entered and cleared at Prince Edward Island in 1851: The following abstract gives a very satisfactory view of the trade and commerce of this colony for 1851: Wheat, 1,970 bushels. Timber, 1,282 pieces; 66 tons scantling; 7,580 tons of timber; 1,865 knees. 4,901 42,060 Wool, 2 bundles. 2,400 14 Less-say, for ship chandlery... Imports, including ship chandlery, which is exported again in the building and rigging of ships, and not estimated in the value of the shipping... 607, 389 $538, 755 62, 884 475 871 |