Newfoundland
A British colony of North America (area 42,734 square miles), bounded on the north by the Strait of Belle Isle, which separates it from its dependency Labrador (area 120,000 square miles), on the east and south by the Atlantic Ocean, and on the west by the Gulf of St. Lawrence; lies between 46° 35′ and 51.0 40′ lat. N., and 52° 35′ and 59° 25′ long. W.
It was the first portion of North America discovered by European voyagers. The Cabots sailed from Bristol in 1497, and on 24 June of that year, the festival of St. John the Baptist, they landed in the harbour to which they gave the name of St. John’s, which it bears to the present day. The Cabots, like all the early navigators, had in view not only the discovery of new lands, and the increase of the power and wealth and territory of the mother country, but also the spread of the Gospel and the conversion of the heathens to the Christian Faith. Hence they brought with them priests and missionaries. Those who accompanied Cabot were Augustinians or “Black Friars”. We may be sure that Mass was celebrated on these shores in 1497.
In the year 1500 the Portuguese under Gaspar de Cortereal took possession of the country and founded the settlement and Church of Placentia. In 1534 the French voyager, Jacques Cartier, visited the country, and explored the Gulf of St. Lawrence. He also had chaplains with him who celebrated Mass at Catalina in Newfoundland, and Brest, or Old Fort, on Labrador. In 1622 Lord Baltimore founded his colony of Ferryland. He brought out three Jesuit Fathers with him, and had Mass celebrated regularly, “and all other ceremonies of the Church of Rome were used in ample manner as ’tis used in Spain.” Such was the complaint made against him to the Board of Trade by the Protestant clergyman, Mr. Stourton. In 1650 the French founded a church at Placentia on the site of the one abandoned by the Portuguese. But none of those attempts succeeded. The real foundation of the Catholic Church in Newfoundland is due to priests from Ireland, who came out towards the close of the eighteenth century.
The population of the country by the last census, taken in 1901, was 217,037. Of these the Catholics number 75,657, members of the Church of England 71,470, Methodists 60,700. The reminder belong different denominations, viz. Presbyterians, Congregationalists, etc.
All denominations are equally recognized by the law, and there is no Established Church. In the early history of the country the Catholics were looked on as a proscribed class by the governors of the time, who were generally commanders of British war-ships. Priests were hunted and persecuted, people who harboured them, or permitted Mass to be celebrated in their houses were fined, imprisoned, and flogged, and their houses either burned or pulled down. In one unique case a house where Mass had been celebrated was towed into the sea and sunk. These acts were undoubtedly illegal, as there was no law in the statutes of the country penalizing the exercise of the Catholic Religion, but the penal laws of Ireland were supposed to be applicable to Newfoundland. However, the principle would not work both ways, and when Catholic Emancipation was granted to Ireland these same interpreters of the law held that the privileges of Emancipation did not apply to Newfoundland. During the whole course of his episcopate Bishop Fleming fought against, these injustices and finally succeeded in obtaining full freedom for the Catholics.
In educational matters Catholics also enjoy every freedom. The denominational system is established by law. A sum is granted by Government amounting to about $1.13 per caput of the population, or $5.25 per pupil actually attending school. It is true this amount is small as compared with some of the Canadian Provinces, or States of the Union, but a large amount is paid by private individuals to Catholic colleges and convents which is not included in the above figures. The results compare most favorably with those of other countries. About thirty years ago a branch of the Irish Christian Brothers was introduced, an immediate impulse was given to education throughout the island, and it. is now at, a very high standard. The Brothers have charge of two very large schools in St. John’s–St. Patrick’s and Holy Cross schools. There are ten class-rooms, containing about a thousand boys. The Brothers also have charge of the college in which some three hundred boys are educated, sixty being boarders. Here are trained the pupil-teachers who will have charge of the public schools throughout the island. The college is affiliated to the Oxford Examining Board and the London University Board. A local council of higher education (nondenominational) looks after the local Examinations. The Rhodes bequest gives three places for Newfoundland in perpetuity. They are all filled this year for the first time, and of the three occupants two are pupils of the College of St. Bonaventure. There are thirteen convents of Sisters of the Presentation Order in the country (9 in St. John’s Diocese, 3 in Harbor Grace, and 1 in St. George’s), and eight convents of the Sisters of Mercy (5 in St. John’s, 2 in Harbor Grace, and 1 in St. George’s). The Presentation Sisters have free schools, the nuns being paid out of the Government grant. The Sisters of Mercy have, besides free schools, a paying school and a boarding academy. The total number of children attending school is over 13,000. There are also two orphan asylums, or industrial schools, one under the Sisters of Mercy for girls, and one under the Christian Brothers for boys. These contain about 200 orphans, or one for every 375 of the Catholic population, which, considering that this is a maritime and fishing colony, and the losses at sea are abnormal, is not an excessive number.
The Catholic religion is not only holding its own, but advancing rapidly in Newfoundland. The most harmonious relations exist between the different denominations, which are only interrupted on occasions of public excitement, when persons aspiring to political position and honours do not scruple to stir up feelings of religious bigotry and theological hatred among the more simple-minded of the people. A great future is opening up for the country. Large industries are being started in the interior, the scene of the new developments being principally in the Dioceses of Harbor Grace and St. George’s.
———————————–
M.F. HOWLEY Transcribed by Joseph McIntyre
The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume XCopyright © 1911 by Robert Appleton CompanyOnline Edition Copyright © 2003 by K. KnightNihil Obstat, October 1, 1911. Remy Lafort, S.T.D., CensorImprimatur. +John Cardinal Farley, Archbishop of New York
Fuente: Catholic Encyclopedia
Newfoundland
an island and British colony of North America, lies in the Atlantic Ocean, at the mouth of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, separated from Labrador on the north by the Strait of Belle Isle (about twelve miles broad), and extending in lat. from 46 38′ to 51 37′ N., and in long. from 52 44′ to 59 30′ W., is 370 miles in length, 290 miles in breadth, about 1000 miles in circumference, and has an area of 38,850 square miles, or about 23,000,000 acres, of which only about 3,000,000 are set down as good for cultivation, and even of these but little has thus far been much tilled. In 1845 the only crops raised were oats and hay; but within recent years large supplies of grain and vegetable and garden seeds have been imported, and in 1869 the number of acres under cultivation was 41,715. It. will now probably not run far from 50,000 acres. The population of Newfoundland has increased rapidly in recent times, and will no doubt in a short time greatly enlarge the figures for land under cultivation. In 1763 Newfoundland only counted about 7500 souls; in 1884 it reported by census 197,332, from which, however, 8651 must be deducted for settlers of the French shores, and 1211 for Labrador. The main employment of these people is fishing, which has proved a very profitable source of income. The mineral wealth of the country is also very great, and has in recent times been greatly developed. Newfoundland’s surface is diversified by mountains, marshes, barrens, ponds, and lakes. The mountains in the Avalon Peninsula (stretching southeast from the main portion of the island, and connected with it by an isthmus of only about three miles in width) rise in some cases to 1400 feet above sea-level; while, both here and along the western shore, the height of 1000 feet is frequently reached. The number of the lakes and ponds (the latter name being used indiscriminately for a large or a small lake) is remarkable, and it has been estimated, though perhaps with some exaggeration, that about one third of the whole surface is covered with fresh water. The barrens occupy the tops of hills. The coast-line is everywhere deeply indented with bays and estuaries, many of which are spacious enough to contain the whole British navy. Of these inlets, the principal, beginning from the northern extremity of the island, are Hare, White, Notre Dame, Bonavista, Trinity, Conception, St. Mary’s, Placentia, Fortunle, St. George’s, and St. John’s bays. These bays vary in length from twenty-five to seventy miles, are of great breadth, and are lined as indeed the whole coast is with excellent harbors. The rivers, none of which are navigable for any distance, communicate between the lakes of the interior and the shore, and are narrow and winding; occasionally, however, they are turned to account in driving machinery. The main streams are the Exploit, with its affluent the Great Rattling, and the Humber. The climate of the island is very moderate. In the summer the thermometer rarely ranges above 70, and in winter it seldom falls below zero; yet the cold weather remains so steady for seven or eight months that the winters are pronounced severe. Very little activity is manifest during that period of the year.
The early history of Newfoundland is involved in obscurity. It was discovered June 24, 1497, in the reign of Henry VII, by John Cabot; and the event is noticed by the following entry in the accounts of the privy- purse expenditure: 1497, Aug. 10. To hym that found the New Isle, 10. It was visited by the Portuguese navigator, Gaspar de Cortereal, in 1500; and within two years after that time regular fisheries had been established on its shores by the Portuguese, tnscayans, and French. In 1578, 400 vessels, of which 50 were English, were engaged in the fishery. Sir Humphrey Gilbert, with his ill-fated expedition, arrived in St. John’s harbor in August, 1583, and formally took possession of the island in the name of queen Elizabeth. In the return voyage the expedition was scattered by a storm, and the commander lost. In 1621 Sir George Calvert (afterwards lord Baltimore) settled in the great peninsula in the south-east, and named it the Province of Avalon. The history of the island during the 17th and part of the 18th centuries is little more than a record of rivalries and feuds between the English and French fishermen; but by the Treaty of Utrecht (1713) the island was ceded wholly to England, the French, however, retaining the privilege of fishing and drying their fish on certain portions of the coast. A governor was appointed in 1728. The present form of government, established in 1855, consists of the governor, a legislative council (appointed by the crown), and a general assembly (elected by the people). The bast of Labrador on the mainland, and the island of Anticosti, have been included since 1809 within the jurisdiction of the governor of Newfoundland. The question of annexation to Canada is now greatly agitated in the British dominions in America, but it is very doubtful whether the Newfoundlanders will yield their independence. The probability is that this island will soon become an important commercial center. There is some prospect of a railroad connection with the United States to facilitate travel to Europe, shortening the ocean voyage by four days. If accomplished, the social coloring of this now but sparsely settled country will change considerably. There are as yet no railroads in the island, and its peculiar configuration renders even roadmaking a matter of great difficulty. There are no roads across the island; they are confined chiefly to the southeastern and south-western seaboard. There is fortnightly communication in summer between St. John’s and Halifax by steamer. On the colony, and connected with it, 400 miles of lines of telegraph have been constructed, 50 miles of which, from Cape Bay to Cape Breton, are submarine.
The aborigines of Newfoundland, who called themselves Beoths, and painted themselves with red ochre, whence they were called Red Indians, are supposed to have become extinct. There are a few Micmac Indians who came there from New Brunswick, and were mainly instrumental in extirpating the Beoths. The present inhabitants of Newfoundland, therefore, are mainly Europeans, and principally from England and Ireland. Those from the last-named country predominate to such an extent as to stamp the island with their own especial mark. Unlike their countrymen in the United States, who, in the course of two or three generations, lose their accent, religion, improvidence, and all other national traits, and become assimilated by the predominant population into Americans, the Irish here, having been long almost a majority of the entire population, perpetuate all their peculiar characteristics, and even, to some extent, impregnate the rest of the population with them. Thus the Newfoundland accent is a distinctly Irish one, though those who betray it may have no Irish blood in their veins, and never have been in Ireland in their lives. All along the coast the little huts erected near the fishing-stages for the fishermen to live in in summer time have a strong family resemblance to those of the poorer peasantry in the ould country;’ and there is a sort of general air of slovenliness which the Celtic race seems to have a specialty for imparting to any community in which they preponderate.
The signs and tokens, moreover, of Roman Catholics constituting the prevailing religionists of the island are apparent in many respects. Here, as elsewhere, it is the peculiarity of Romanism that, while its adherents seem povertystricken, the Church is rolling in wealth. The Roman Catholic cathedral is by far the most imposing structure in the city of St. John, the principal place of the island, and is the first object that strikes the eye on entering the harbor. Besides the cathedral and college, there are upwards of fifty churches and chapels, and no fewer than twelve convents, in that town. On all the island there were in 1874 64,486 Roman Catholics to 59,605 Episcopalians, 35,551 Wesleyan Methodists, and 1813 of other sects, such as the Baptists, Presbyterians, etc. Newfoundland contains two Romish bishoprics, St. John’s and Harbor Grace, two Wesleyan superintendencies, and an Episcopal bishopric, with a bishop and a coadjutor. The number of places of worship in 1869 was 188, viz. Episcopalian, 81; Roman Catholic, 59; Wesleyan, 42; other, 6. For school purposes the island is divided into districts, and in each a board of education, consisting of Romanists for the Catholic schools, and another, consisting of Protestants, for the Protestant schools, is appointed by the governor in council. These boards have the general management of the schools in their respective districts, subject to the approval of the governor in council. The governor, with the advice of the council, also appoints a Roman Catholic and a Protestant superintendent to inspect the schools, and report on their condition. The sum of 750 (400 for Protestants and 350 for Catholics) is appropriated annually for the training of teachers. Two scholars from each electoral district are entitled to 25 each for their board, lodging, and tuition in one of the academies or higher schools of the island. The money appropriated by the Legislature for educational purposes has hitherto been divided between the Protestants and Catholics in proportion to their numbers; the act of April 29, 1874, provides for a further division among the various Protestant sects. This act did not go into effect until July 1,1875, after a census had been taken, upon which and subsequent decennial censuses the denominational appropriations are to be based. It increases the number of inspectors to three. In the schools under government control a small tuition fee is required of pupils able to pay. Besides those established by the governmental boards, the schools of the Colonial Church and School Society (an English association under the auspices of the Established Church), and several established and controlled by the different religious denominations, receive aid from the government. The amount expended for educational purposes in 1872 was 14,852; in 1873, 15,316. The number of schools in operation in 1874 was 293, with a total attendance of 13,597 pupils, of which 157, with 7805 pupils, were Protestant, and 136, with 5792 pupils, Roman Catholic. Besides these there are grammarschools at Harbor Grace and Carbonear; an Episcopal, a Wesleyan Methodist, and a general Protestant academy at St. John’s; and at the same place an Episcopal theological institute and St. Bonaventure College (Roman Catholic). See Blackwood’s Magazine, July, 1873, art. iv; Anderson, Hist. of the Colonial Church (see Index in vol. iii); St. John, Catechism of the History of Newfoundland (1855); Anspach, Hist. of Newfoundland (Lond. 1819); Pedley, Newfoundland (1863). See also the illustrated papers in Harper’s Monthly Magazine, vol. xii and xxii.