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ONTARIO , a See also:province of See also:Canada, having the province of See also:Quebec to the E., the states of New See also:York, See also:Ohio, See also:Michigan, See also:Wisconsin, and See also:Minnesota to the S., See also:Manitoba to the W., and the See also:district of . See also:Keewatin with See also: In the last See also:petroleum, natural See also:gas, See also:salt and See also:gypsum are obtained, but elsewhere in See also:southern Ontario no economic minerals except building materials are obtained. Covering the higher parts of the south-western Palaeozoic area in most places are See also:rolling hills of See also:boulder clay or stony moraines; while the See also:lower levels are plains gently sloping toward the nearest of the Great Lakes and sheeted with silt deposited in more See also:ancient lakes when the St Lawrence outlet was blocked with ice at the end of the glacial See also:period. The old See also:shore cliffs and See also:gravel bars of these glacial lakes are still well-marked topographical features, and provide favourite sites for towns and cities. See also:London, for example, is built on the old shore of Lake See also:Warren, the highest of the See also:extinct lakes; and St Catharines, Hamilton and See also:Toronto are on the old shore of Lake See also:Iroquois, the lowest. The Niagara escarpment mentioned above, generally called " the See also:mountain " in Ontario, is the cause of waterfalls on all the rivers which plunge over it, Niagara Falls being, of course, the most important; and in most cases these falls have eaten their way back into the tableland, forming deep See also:gorges or canyons like that below Niagara itself, through which the water pours as violent rapids. Between the Palaeozoic area near Ottawa, and Georgian Bay to the north of the region just referred to, there is a southward See also:projection of the Archaean protaxis consisting of See also:granite and See also:gneiss of the Laurentian, enclosing bands of crystalline See also:limestone and See also:schists, which are of See also:interest as furnishing the only mines of " Old Ontario." From these rocks in the Ottawa valley are quarried or See also:mined granite, See also:marble, magnificent See also:blue See also:sodalite, See also:felspar, See also:talc, actinolite, See also:mica, See also:apatite, See also:graphite and See also:corundum; the latter See also:mineral, which occurs on a larger See also:scale here than else-where, is rapidly replacing See also:emery as an abrasive. Several metals have been mined also, including See also:gold, See also:copper, See also:lead, See also:iron and See also:arsenic; but the amounts produced have not been great, and many of the mines are no longer working. While all the larger cities and most of the manufacturing and farming districts of the province belong to old Ontario, there is now in See also:process of development a " New Ontario," stretching for hundreds of See also:miles to the north and north-west of the region just described and covering a far larger area, chiefly made up of Laurentian and Huronian rocks of the Archaean protaxis. The rocky hills of the tableland to the north See also:long repelled See also:settlement, the region being looked on by the thrifty farmers of the south as a See also:wilderness useless except for its forests and its furs; and unfortunate settlers who ventured into it usually failed and went west or south in See also:search of better See also:land. Gradually, however, areas of good soil were opened See also:I14 up, in the See also:Rainy river valley, near Lake Temiscaming and elsewhere, and mines of various kinds were discovered, as the See also:Canadian Pacific railway and its branches extended through the region, and at length the finding of very See also:rich See also:silver mines attracted See also:world-wide See also:attention to See also:northern Ontario. In the better explored parts along the great lakes and the See also:railways, ores of gold, silver, See also:nickel, See also:cobalt, See also:antimony, arsenic, See also:bismuth and See also:molybdenum have been obtained, and several important mines have been opened up. Gold has been found at many points across the whole province, from the mines of the Lakeof-the-Woods on the west to the discoveries at Larder Lake on the east; but in most cases the returns have been unsatisfactory, and only a few of the gold mines are working. Silver mines have proved of far greater importance, in See also:early days near See also:Thunder Bay on Lake See also:Superior, more recently in the cobalt region near Lake Temiscaming on the east See also:side of the province. ' Silver Islet mine in Lake Superior produced in all $3,250,000 See also:worth of silver, but this See also:record will no doubt be surpassed by some of the mines in the extraordinarily rich cobalt district. The See also:veins are small, but contain native silver and other rich silver ores running sometimes several thousand ounces per ton, the output being 5,500,000 OZ. in 1906. Associated with the silver minerals are rich ores of cobalt and nickel, combined with arsenic, antimony and See also:sulphur, which would be considered valuable if occurring alone, but are not paid for under See also:present conditions; since they are difficult to See also:separate and refine. The cobalt silver ores are found mainly in Huronian See also:conglomerate, but also in older Keewatin rocks and younger See also:diabase, and the silver-bearing region, which at first included only a few square miles, is found to extend 25 m. to the west and as much to the north. Up to the present the most important mineral product of Ontario is nickel, .which is mined only in the neighbourhood of See also:Sudbury, where the ores occur in very large deposits, which in 1905 produced 9503 tons, more than See also:half of the world's See also:supply of the See also:metal. With the nickel copper is always found, and copper ores are worked on their own See also:account in a few localities, such as Bruce mines. Iron ores have been discovered in many places in connexion with the " iron formation " of the Keewatin, but nowhere in amounts comparable with those of the same formation in Michigan and Minnesota. The See also:total mineral output of Ontario, including building materials and See also:cement, is larger than that of any other province of the dominion, and as more careful exploration is carried on in the northern parts, no doubt many more deposits of value will be discovered. It has been found that northern Ontario beyond the See also:divide between the Great Lakes and See also:Hudson Bay possesses many millions of acres of arable land, clay deposits in a See also:post-glacial lake, like those in the southern part of the province, running from east to west from Lake See also:Abitibbi to a point north of Lake See also:Nipigon. Railways are opening up this tract. The clay See also:belt is in latitudes south of See also:Winnipeg, with a good summer See also:climate but See also:cold winters. The spruce See also:timber covering much of the area is of great value, compensating for the labour of clearing the land.
Lakes and Rivers.—All parts of Ontario are well provided with lakes and rivers, the most important chain being that of the St Lawrence and the Great Lakes with their tributaries, which drain the more populous southern districts, and, with the aid of canals, furnish communication by fairly large vessels between the lower St Lawrence and the Lake Superior. Lake Nipigon, a beautiful See also:body of water 852 ft. above the sea, 70 M. long and 50 M. wide, may be looked upon as the headwaters of the St Lawrence, since Nipigon river is the largest tributary of Lake Superior, though several other important rivers, such as the Kaministiquia, the Pic and the Michipicoten, enter it from the north. All these rivers have high falls not far from Lake Superior, and Kakebeka Falls on the Kaministiquia supplies See also:power to the twin cities of Fort See also: Niagara Falls, with rapids above and below, carry the waters of the upper lakes over the Niagara escarpment. Power from the falls is put to use in New York See also:state and Ontario, a large amount being sent to Toronto 8o m. away. Welland canal, between Port Colborne on Lake Erie and See also:Dalhousie on Lake Ontario, carries vessels of 14 ft. See also:draught from one lake to the other. From Lake Ontario the St Lawrence emerges through the meshes of the Thousand Islands, where it crosses Archaean rocks, after which follow several rapids separated by quieter stretches before See also:Montreal is reached at the head of ocean See also:navigation. Steamers not of too great draught can run the rapids going down, but vessels must come up through the canals. All the other rivers in southern Ontario are tributaries of the lakes or of the St Lawrence, the Ottawa, navigable in many parts, being the largest, and the Trent next in importance. In northern Ontario lakes are innumerable and often very picturesque, forming favourite summer resorts, such as Lake Temagami, the Muskoka Lakes and Lake-of-the-Woods. The latter lake with Rainy Lake and other connected bodies of water belong to the Hudson Bay See also:system of waters, their outlet being by Winnipeg river to Lake Winnipeg, from which flows See also:Nelson river. In Ontario the Albany, See also:Moose, Missanabi and Abitibbi flow into Hudson Bay, but none of these rivers is navigable except for canoes. Climate.—The climate of Ontario varies greatly, as might be expected from its wide range in See also:latitude and the relationships of the Great Lakes to the southern peninsula of the province. The northern parts as far south as the north shore of Lake Superior have long and cold but See also:bright winters, sometimes with temperatures reaching 50° F. below zero; while their summers are delightful, with much See also:sunshine and some hot days but pleasantly cool nights. Between Georgian Bay and Ottawa the winters are less cold, but usually with a plentiful snowfall; while the summers are warm and sometimes even hot. The south-west peninsula of Ontario has its climate greatly modified by the lakes which almost enclose it. As the lakes never freeze, the prevalent cold north-west winds of North See also:America are warmed in their passage over them, and often much of the See also:winter precipitation is in the See also:form of See also:rain, so that the See also:weather has much less certainty than in the north. The summers are often sultry, though the presence of the lakes prevents the intense See also:heat experienced in the states to the west and south. Owing to the mildness of its winters, the south-west peninsula is a famous See also:fruit See also:country with many See also:vine-yards and orchards of apples, plums and peaches. See also:Indian See also:corn (See also:maize) is an important See also: 40.6 38.5 31.1 See also:June, See also:July and See also:August 65.4 67.4 58.9 See also:September, See also:October and See also:November 47.0 44.8 38.5 See also:Average See also:annual precipitation . . in. in. in. 33.944 32.650 23.580 (A. P. C.) See also:Population.—The following table shows the population of the province: 1881. 1891. 1901. i Townships. 1,346,623 1,283,281 1,247,190 2 Towns and villages 323,188 935 935,757 Cities 257,111 8,128 398,128 1,926,922 2,114,321 2,182,947 1 The name given to the rural municipalities. 2 Any See also:town in Canada can become incorporated as a city on attaining a population of ro,000. Ontario is thus pre-eminently an agricultural province, though the growth of manufactures has increased the importance of the towns and cities, and many of the farmers are seeking new homes in the provinces of Manitoba, See also:Alberta and See also:Saskatchewan. This See also:emigration accounts in large measure for the slow increase of the population, though there has also been a slight decrease in the See also:birth-See also:rate. The population was long entirely confined to the southern and eastern sections of the province, which comprise an area of about 33,000 sq. m.; but in these districts it is now stationary or decreasing, whereas the northern and western portions are filling up rapidly. Toronto, the provincial See also:capital, has grown from 59,000 in 1871 to about 300,000, partly through the absorption of neighbouring towns and villages. Other
important cities are Ottawa (the capital of the Dominion) (59,928 in 1901), Hamilton (52,634), London (37,981), See also:Kingston (17,961). The number of See also:males slightly exceeds that of See also:females. The population is chiefly of See also:British descent, though in the eastern counties numerous French Canadians are flocking in from Quebec and in some instances by See also:purchase of farms replacing the British. There are also about 20,000 See also:Indians, many of whom are civilized, enjoy the See also:franchise and are enrolled in the Dominion See also:militia. There is no state See also: On it have been modelled the municipal systems of the other provinces. Municipal ownership does not prevail to any extent, and in the larger cities the See also:powers of certain great corporations have tended to cause See also:friction, but such matters as the See also:provision of electric power and See also:light are gradually being taken in See also:hand both by the municipalities and by the province, and a railway and municipal See also:board appointed by the local legislature has certain powers over the railways and electric tramlines. See also:Finance.—By the British North America Act, which formed in 1867 the Dominion of Canada, the provinces have the right of See also:direct taxation only. Against this, however, a strong See also:prejudice exists, and in Ontario the only direct taxation takes the form of taxes on corporations (See also:insurance, See also:loan and railway companies), See also:succession duties, liquor licences, &c. These, together with returns from various investments, earnings of provincial buildings, &c., yield about one-third of the See also:revenue. Another third comes from the Dominion See also:subsidy, granted in lieu of the power of indirect taxation, and the See also:remainder from the See also:sale or See also:lease of See also:crown lands, timber and minerals. Owing to the excellence of the municipal system there has been a tendency to devolve thereon, in whole or in part, certain See also:financial burdens on the plea of decentralization. The finances of the province have been well administered, and only in See also:recent years has a See also:debt been incurred, chiefly owing to the construction of a provincial railway to aid in the development of the northern districts. See also:Education.—As early as 1797 500,000 acres of crown lands were set apart for educational purposes, and a well-organized system of education now exists, which, since 1876, has constituted a See also:department of the provincial government. A laudable See also:attempt has been made to keep the education department See also:free from the vagaries and the strife of party politics, and the advantages of See also:political See also:control have been as much See also:felt as its drawbacks. Since 1906 a See also:superintendent has been appointed with large powers, See also:independent of political control and with the assistance of an advisory council ; attention is also paid to the See also:advice of the provincial Educational Association, which meets yearly at Toronto. School attendance is compulsory between the ages of eight and fourteen, and is enforced by truant See also:officers. The See also:primary or public See also:schools are free and undenominational. They cannot, however, be called See also:secular, as they are opened and closed with the See also:Lord's See also:Prayer and closid with the -See also:reading of the See also:Bible. From these religious exercises any See also:children may absent themselves whose parents profess conscientious objections. After a long and See also:bitter struggle the Roman Catholics won in 1863 the right to separate schools. These may be set up in any district upon the See also:request of not less than five heads of families. The rates levied on their supporters are devoted exclusively to the separate schools, which also See also:share See also:pro rata in the government See also: There are also numerous private schools. Of these such as are incorporated are aided by exemption from municipal taxation. In and around Toronto are numerous boarding schools and colleges, of which those for boys are on the model of the great public schools of See also:England. Of these the most celebrated is Upper Canada See also:College, founded in 1829, and long part of the educational system of the province, but now under private control. The provincial university is situated in Toronto, and since 1906 has been governed by an independent board, over which a power of See also:veto is retained by the lieutenant-governor in council. With the affiliated colleges, it had in 1908 a See also:staff of 356, and 3545 students. There are also numerous See also:universities throughout the province, founded in early days by the various religious bodies. Of these See also:Victoria (Methodist) and Trinity (See also:Anglican) are in Toronto, and have become federated with the provincial university, in which they have merged their degree-conferring powers. MacMaster (Baptist) is also in Toronto, and retains its See also:independence. The others are See also:Queen's University, Kingston (Presbyterian): the Western University, London (Anglican) ; and the university of Ottawa (Roman Cathclic). See also:Women students are admitted to all the universities See also:save Ottawa on the same terms as men, and form nearly one-third of the whole number of students. Theological colleges are supported by the various religious bodies, and are in See also:affiliation with one or other of the universities. The public and high schools tend rather to follow See also:American than British methods, though less freedom is allowed to the local authorities than in most of the American states. Only those See also:text books authorized by the central department may be used. Free text books may be Issued at the discretion of the local authorities, but in most cases are provided by parents. Every school, public, separate or high, shares in the provincial grant, but the chief financial See also:burden falls on the local authorities. Owing to the See also:low rate of salaries, the percentage of women teachers, especially in the public schools, is steadily increasing, and now amounts in these to almost 83 %. The same cause has also reduced their age, and the teachers are in many cases exceedingly immature. The institution of a minimum See also:salary by the provincial department led to such resistance that it was withdrawn, but a distinct advance in salaries has taken place since 1906. In the rural districts an attempt is being made to increase efficiency by the consolidation of several small schools and the See also:conveyance of the children to one central building. The curriculum, originally modelled on that of England, is being gradually modified by the necessities of a new country. In addition to the See also:ordinary See also:literary and scientific subjects, See also:manual training, domestic See also:science, See also:agriculture and kindred subjects are taught in the public and high schools, and in the larger towns technical institutes are being founded. Many of the rural schools have gardens, in which the elements of agriculture, See also:botany and kindred subjects are taught in a See also:practical manner. Travelling See also:libraries are sent through the country districts, and an attempt is being made to extend similar aid to the See also:lumber-camps. The training of teachers is carefully supervised. Numerous model and normal schools exist, and a well-equipped normal college at Toronto. The smaller See also:county model schools have, since 1906-1907, been consolidated and centralized in the larger towns. At See also:Guelph is the Ontario Agricultural College, founded and endowed by the provincial government, and greatly enlarged and improved by the generosity of See also:Sir William See also:Macdonald (b. 1832). Its services in placing provincial agriculture on a scientific basis cannot be over-estimated. The government also maintains an institute for the See also:deaf and dumb at See also:Belleville and for the See also:blind at See also:Brantford. At Kingston it supports a See also:dairy school and a large school of See also:mining. Agriculture.—About three-fifths of the inhabitants are engaged in agricultural pursuits, and in 1910 the amount invested in lands, buildings, implements and stock was See also:double that invested in the manufactures of the whole Dominion. Nearly all the farms are worked by their owners, and a simple and efficient system of land-See also:transfer is in use. The farming population in the older parts of the province tends to decline in See also:numbers, owing to emigration, partly to the towns, but especially to the newer lands of Manitoba and the west. Yet, owing to the increasing use of scientific implements and methods promoted by the federal and provincial governments, the total value of agricultural products increased by over 50% between 1881 and 1910. In See also:general, the soil is fertile and the climate favourable. , The district north of the Height of Land, long supposed to be a barren wilderness, has proved in part suitable for agriculture, and is steadily increasing in population. Mixed farming and the raising of live stock is becoming more and more the See also:rule, so that the failure of any one crop becomes of less vital importance. The average See also:farm varies in See also:size from loo to 200 acres. Wheat, See also:barley, oats, peas, potatoes and other roots are See also:staple crops, the average yield of wheat being about 20 bushels an See also:acre; See also:cattle are increasing in number and improving in quality, and all branches of dairy farming prosper. Owing to See also:tariff restrictions, the United States' See also:market is being more and more abandoned, and improvements in cold storage are making it possible to export to Great' See also:Britain increasing quantities of See also:butter and See also:cheese. The collection of See also:milk by the creameries and cheese-factories is carried on with great efficiency. The number of horses and See also:sheep is stationary or declining, but the raising of hogs, formerly abandoned in great part to the western states, is becoming an increasing industry. Large quantities of peas, corn, tomatoes and other vegetables are canned, chiefly for See also:home See also:consumption. Three-quarters of the See also:orchard lands of Canada are in Ontario, the chief crops being apples and peaches. The cultivation of the latter centres in the Niagara peninsula, but apples flourish along the great lakes and the St Lawrence from Goderich to See also:Cornwall. In See also:Essex and See also:Kent, and along the shore of Lake Erie, tobacco and grapes form a staple crop, and See also:wine of See also:fair quality is produced. Lumber.—Slightly less than half remains of the See also:forest which once covered the whole province. The lumber industry exceeds that of any other part of the Dominion, though Quebec possesses greater timber areas untouched. The numerous lakes and rivers greatly facilitate the bringing of the timber to market. All trees were long little thought of in comparison with the See also:pine, but of See also:late years See also:poplar and spruce have proved of great value in the making of See also:paper pulp, and hard-wood (See also:oak, See also:beech, ash, See also:elm, certain varieties of See also:maple) is becoming increasingly valuable for use in flooring and the making of See also:furniture. In the See also:spring the making of See also:syrup and See also:sugar from the See also:sap of the sugar-maple is a typical industry. Much splendid timber has been needlessly destroyed, chiefly by forest-fires, but also by improvident farmers in their haste to clear the land. Increased attention is now being paid by both provincial and federal governments to preservation and to reforestation. See also:Special areas have been set apart on which no timber may be cut, and on which the problems of scientific forestry may be studied. Of these, the earliest was the See also:Algonquin See also:National See also:Park, which also forms a haven of See also:refuge for the See also:wild creatures. Northern Ontario is still a valuable See also:fur-bearing and See also:hunting country, moose, caribou, See also:fox, See also:bear, See also:otter, See also:mink and See also:skunk being found in large quantities. Wolves, once numerous, have now been almost extirpated, though a See also:bounty on each head is still paid. Minerals.—The See also:geographical See also:distribution of the great mineral See also:wealth of Ontario has already been indicated (see Physical Geography, above). Save for beds of See also:lignite, said to exist in the extreme north, See also:coal is not found and has to be imported, chiefly from the states of Ohio and See also:Pennsylvania, though Nova See also:Scotia furnishes an increasing quantity. The See also:production of iron is stimulated by federal and provincial bounties. The province supplies over two-thirds of the iron ore mined in the Dominion, but much is still imported. The output of gold is decreasing. The nickel mines in the neighbourhood of Sudbury are the largest in the world, outrivalling those of New See also:Caledonia. In the same district, and chiefly in connexion with the nickel mines, large quantities of copper are produced. When in 1905 the rich silver area was found in northern Ontario, a See also:rush was made to it, comparable to those to the Australian and Californian goldfields. Cobalt, the centre of this area, is 103 M. from North Bay by the provincial railway (Temiscaming & North Ontario railway), In the same neighbourhood are found cobalt, arsenic and bismuth. In the older districts of the province are found petroleum and salt. The district around See also:Petrolea produces about 30,000,000 gallons of petroleum yearly, practically the whole output of the dominion. Salt is worked in the vicinity of Lake Huron, but the production is less than half that imported. Natural gas is produced in the counties of Welland and Essex, and exported in pipes to See also:Buffalo and Detroit. Among the less important metals and minerals which are also mined, is corundum of especial purity.
Manufactures and See also:Commerce.—Manufactures are becoming of increasing importance. The obstacle due to lack of coal is offset by the splendid water powers afforded by the rapid streams in all parts of the province. Save for the See also:flour and grist mills, few do more than supply the markets of the Dominion, of which they control an in-creasing portion. Woollen mills, distilleries and breweries and manufactures of See also:leather, locomotives and iron-See also:work, furniture, agricultural implements, See also:cloth and paper are the chief. The great agricultural development of the western provinces, in which manufactures are little advanced, has given a great impetus to the See also:industries of the older provinces, especially Ontario.
Communications.—Numerous lakes and rivers afford means of communication, and obstacles thereon have been largely overcome by canals (see CANADA). Railways gridiron the province, which contains over one-third the total mileage of the dominion; their construction is aided by provincial and municipal subsidies, in addition to that paid by the federal government. The provincial government owns a line running north from North Bay, operated by a board of commissioners. The other railways are owned by private companies, but are subject to the decisions of a federal railway See also:commission. The provincial railway and municipal board also exercises control, especially over the city and suburban electric lines.
See also:History.—The first See also: In 1613 he explored the Ottawa river as far as Allumette Island; in 1615, starting from Montreal, he reached the Georgian Bay by way of the Ottawa river, Lake Nipissing and French river, and then by way of Lakes Couchiching and See also:Simcoe and the Trent river system of lakes and streams made his way to Lake Ontario, called by him Entouhoronon. Thewinter of 1615-1616 he spent among the Huron Indians, near the Georgian Bay. In 1615 a See also:mission among these Indians was founded by the Recollet friars, and carried on with great success and devotion by the See also:Jesuits, but in 1648-165o the Huron nation was almost utterly destroyed by an invasion of their hereditary foes, the Iroquois. From its centre at Quebec French See also:civilization extended along the See also:Mississippi and the Great Lakes, and also northwards to Hudson's Bay. In the western country numerous posts were founded, wherein fur-trader and missionary were often at variance, the trader finding See also:brandy his best See also:medium of ex-See also:change, while the missionary tried in vain to stay its ravages among his See also:flock. On the frontiers of what is now Ontario the chief points were at the strategic centres of Fort Frontenac (now Kingston), Niagara, Michilimackinac and Sault-Ste-Marie. Farther north, in what is now New Ontario, their English rivals, the Hudson's Bay See also:Company, had more or less permanent posts, especially at Fort Albany and Moose Factory. With the cession of French North America to Great Britain in 1763, the Indian lords of the soil See also:rose under See also:Pontiac in a last attempt to shake off the white man, and in 1763-1765 there was hard fighting along the western frontier from Sault-Ste-Marie to Detroit. Thereafter for almost twenty years, Ontario was traversed only by wandering bands of trappers, chiefly belonging to the Hudson's Bay Company; but in 1782 bands of American See also:loyalists began to occupy the fertile country along the Bay of Quinte, and in the Niagara peninsula, the first settlement being made in 1782 at Kingston. Between 1782-1784 about 5000 loyalists entered Ontario, and were given liberal grants of land by the British government. The oligarchic constitution established in Canada in 1774 by the Quebec Act did not suit men trained in the school of local self-government which Britain had unwittingly established in the American colonies, and the See also:gift of representative institutions was soon necessary. In the debates in the British See also:parliament Fox urged that the whole territory should remain one province, and of this the governor-general, the 1st See also:baron See also:Dorchester (q.v.), was on the whole in favour, but in 1791 See also:Pitt introduced and carried the Constitutional Act, by which Upper and Lower Canada were separated. The Ottawa river was chosen as the main boundary between them, but the retention by Lower Canada of the seigneuries of New Longueuil and Vaudreuil, on the western side of the river, is a curious instance of the See also:triumph of social and See also:historical conditions over geographical. To the new province were given English See also:civil and criminal See also:law, a legislative See also:assembly and council and a lieutenant-governor; in the words of its first governor, See also:Colonel See also: This tragical See also:farce was soon at an end and its author a fugitive in the United States, whence he instigated bands of hooligans to make piratical attacks upon the Canadian frontier. Thus forcibly reminded of the existence of Canada, the British government sent out Lord See also:Durham to investigate, and as a result of his See also:report the two Canadas were in 1841 united in a legislative See also:union. Meanwhile the southern part of the province had been filling up. In 1791 the population was probably under 20,000; in 1824 it was 150,066, and in 1841, 455,688. The eastern counties of Stormont and Glengarry, and parts of the western peninsula, had been settled by Highlanders; the Canada Company, organized in 1825 by the Scottish novelist, John See also:Galt, had founded the town of Guelph, had cleared large tracts of land in the western peninsula, and settled thereon hundreds of the best class of English and Scotch settlers. Once granted responsible government, and the See also:liberty to make her own mistakes, Upper Canada went ahead. The population rose to 952,004 in 1851 and to 1,396,091 in 1861. Politically she found Lower Canada an uneasy yoke-See also:fellow. The equality of See also:representation, granted at the union, at first unfair to Lower Canada, became still more unfair to Upper Canada, as her population first equalled and then surpassed that of her See also:sister province. The Roman Catholic claim to separate state-aided schools, at length conceded in 1863, long set the religious bodies by the ears. Materially the province prospered. The " Clergy Reserves " were secularized in 1854, and in 1851 began a railway development, the excitement and extravagance caused by which led in 1857 to a financial crisis and the See also:bankruptcy of various municipalities, but which on the whole produced great and lasting benefit, The See also:Reciprocity Treaty with the United States, in operation from 1854 to 1866, and the high prices for farm produce due to the American Civil War, brought about an almost hectic prosperity. In the discussions from which sprang the federation of 1867, Ontario was the one province strongly in favour of the union, which was only rendered possible by the See also:coalition of her See also:rival leaders, J. A. Macdonald and See also:George See also: Had Manitoba won, the boundary line would have been See also:drawn about 6 m. east of Port Arthur, but in 1884 the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council unanimously decided in favour of Ontario; and in 1888 another decision gave her See also:absolute control of the crown lands of New Ontario. Under Mowat's successorsthe barnacles which always attach to a party long in power became unpleasantly conspicuous, and in January 1905 the See also:conscience of Ontario sent the conservatives into power, more from disgust at their opponents than from any See also:enthusiasm for themselves. The new government displayed unexpected energy, ability and strength. The primary and model schools were consolidated and improved; the provincial university was given increased aid from the succession duties; various public utilities, previously operated by private companies, were taken over by the province, and worked with vigour and success. At the See also:election of the 8th of June 1908 the conservative government was returned by an increased See also:majority. Historical: The early history of the province is best given in the general histories of Canada by MacMullen and See also:Kingsford (see CANADA). Ernest Cruikshanks has published numerous excellent studies on the Ontario See also:section of the War of 1812. Lord Durham's celebrated Report (1839, reprinted 1902) is less trustworthy on Ontario than on Quebec. R. and K. M. Lizar's In the Days of the Canada Company depicts the See also:life of the early settlers. See also:Biographies exist of most of the chief men: C. R. W. See also:Biggar, Sir Oliver Mowat (2 vols., 1905), is practically a history of Ontario from 1867 to 1896. The provincial government has issued an excellent Documentary History of Education in Ontario, by J. G. Hodgins (28 vols.). See also W. Kingsford, Early Bibliography of Ontario. (W. L. 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