“The constitution of Nova Scotia is a representative provincial government. The Lieutenant-Governor, who is subordinate to the Governor-General of British North America, is commander within the province; and the supreme civil as well as military authority under him, is a council of twelve members, of whom the bishop and chief justice are members ex officio, and the rest appointed by the Crown. The legislative assembly consists of a body of forty-one members, elected by 40s. freeholders. It is elected, like the British House of Commons, for seven years, but may be prorogued or dissolved by the Lieutenant-Governor. It meets every year, and all money bills must originate in this assembly; other bills require the consent of the Governor and council before they become law. For the purposes of election, Nova Scotia is divided into ten counties. The counties have two members each, and the other representatives are returned by the towns. Justice is administered by a Court of Queen’s Bench, sitting at Halifax, and by district courts in the different counties. The common and statute law of England are in force. The laws are, on the whole, considered judicious, and, as far as they go, calculated to promote the prosperity of the colony, but the harmony of society is too often broken by a love of litigation.”
“Church of England is the established religion, and in 1838 the colony was divided into thirty-two parishes, each of which had a rector salaried by the Crown, or by the society for the propagation of the gospel. Nova Scotia was made a bishopric in 1787, the diocese extending over New Brunswick and Prince Edward’s Island, Newfoundland and the Bermudas.”
Census of the Province of Nova Scotian in 1851
Sex
Age
Under 10
10 to 20
20 to 30
30 to 40
40 to 50
Above 50
Total
Male
44,000
33,791
20,277
14,615
10,616
14,378
137,677
Female
43,452
33,444
22,385
14,665
10,271
14,223
138,440
Total
87,452
67,235
42,662
29,280
20,887
28,601
276,117
Table I: Census of the Province of Nova Scotian in 1851
Condition of the People
Males
Females
Married
39,351
Married
39,351
Widowers
2,238
Widowers
5,916
Bachelors
52,088
Spinsters
49,721
Boys (under 10)
44,000
Girls (under 10)
43,452
Total
137,677
Total
138,440
Table II: Condition of the People
Occupation, Pursuit, or Calling of a large proportion of the inhabitants
Clergymen
288
Farmers
31,604
Lawyers
143
Engaged in the fisheries
9,927
Doctors
145
Registered seamen
1,413
Merchants and traders
2,415
Employed at sea
3,961
Employed in manufactories
3,200
Engaged in lumbering
1,254
Mechanics
8,895
Table III: Occupation, Pursuit, or Calling of a large proportion of the inhabitants
Blind, Deaf and Dumb, Idiots and Lunatics
Blind
Deaf and Dumb
Idiots
Lunatics
Total
Males
74
132
176
76
458
Females
62
98
123
90
373
Total
136
230
299
166
831
Table IV: Blind, Deaf and Dumb, Idiots and Lunatics
[indigenous persons] and black Persons]
[indigenous persons]
black Persons]
Total
Males
524
2,321
2,845
Females
532
2,587
3,119
Total
1,056
4,908
5,964
Table V: [indigenous persons] and black Persons]
Crops, Grain and otherwise
Wheat
297,157
bushels
Peas and beans
21,638
bushels
Barley
196,097
bushels
Grass seeds
3,686
bushels
Rye
61,438
bushels
Potatoes
1,986,789
bushels
Oats
1,384,437
bushels
Turnips
467,127
bushels
Buck-wheat
170,301
bushels
Other roots
32,325
bushels
Indian corn
37,475
bushels
Hay
287,837
tons
Table VI: Crops, Grain and otherwise
Live stock
Horses
28,789
Sheep
282,180
Neat Cattle
156,857
Swine
51,533
Milch Cows
85,856
Table VII: Live stock
Fisheries in 1851
Vessels employed
812
Quantity of fish oil
189,250*
Tonnage
43,333
Value of ditto in £
17,754
Men
3,681
Quantity of dry fish cured
196,434*
Boats employed
5,161
Salmon in barrels
1,669
Men
6,713
Shad
3,536
Quantity of smoked herrings
15,409*
Mackerel
100,047
Value of ditto in £
217,270
Herrings
53,200
Nets and seines
30,154
Alewives
5,343
* In the returns there is nothing to show what these numbers indicate
Table VIII: Fisheries in 1851
Coals, Lime, Bricks and Gypsum
Coal raised, in chaldrons
114,992
Gypsum quarried, in tons
79,795
Baskets of lime burnt
28,603
Value of ditto in £
10,498
Value of ditto in £
4,433
Grindstones quarried , in tons
37,540
Bricks made
2,845,400
Value of ditto in £
5,857
Value of ditto in £
3,211
Table IX: Coals, Lime, Bricks and Gypsum
Manufactories
Mills, Factories, &c.
Number
Value in £
Hands employed
Saw mills
1,153
89,869
1,786
Grist mills
398
72,649
437
Steam mills or factories
10
…
…
Tanneries
237
26,762
374
Foundries
9
12,900
138
Weaving and carding establishments
81
11,690
119
Hand looms
11,096
24,486
…
Breweries and distilleries
17
6,032
42
Other factories
131
14,382
185
Table X: Manufactories
Iron smelted
in tons
400
Agricultural implements
value in £
16,640
Value of ditto
in £
4,635
Charis and cabinet ware
value in £
11,155
Value of castings
in £
3,486
Carriages
value in £
9,491
Flannel
in yds.
219,352
Other wooden ware
value in £
19,233
Fulled cloth
in yds.
119,698
Boots and shoes
value in £
73,654
Cloth not fulled
in yds.
790,104
Leather
value in £
52,625
Malt liquor
in galls.
78,076
Soap
value in £
28,277
Distilled liquor
in galls.
11,900
Candles
value in £
21,210
Maple sugar
in lbs.
110,441
Manufactories, continued
Shipping
Counties
Entered Inwards
Cleared Outwards
Ships
Tonnage
Ships
Tonnage
Great Britain
97
27,886
102
29,739
British Colonies
2,517
149,631
2,815
179,712
United States
1,211
136,580
1,266
139,427
Foreign
181
18,039
49
5,299
Total
4,006
332,136
4,232
354,177
Table XI: Shipping
Religious Denominations
Church of England
36,482
Methodists
23,596
Roman Catholics
69,634
Copngregationalists
2,639
Kirk of Scotland
18,867
Universalists
580
Presbyterian Church of Nova Scotia
28,767
Lutherans
4,087
Free Church
25,280
Sandemanians
101
Baptists
42,243
Quakers
188
Other denominations
3,791
Table XII: Religious Denominations
Houses, Buildings, &c.
Inhabited houses
41,455
Paupers
1,072
Families
45,541
Rate payers
38,388
Uninhabited houses
2,028
Probable value of real estate in £
8,050,923
Houses building
2,347
Stores, barns, and outhouses
52,758
Table XIII: Houses, Buildings, &c.
Cheshire, Edward. “Statistics Relative to Nova Scotia in 1851.” Journal of the Statistical Society of London, vol. 17, no. 1, 1854, pp. 73–80. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/2338357. Accessed 9 June 2021.
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