The Republican journal., 1892-04-21
Letter from Nova Scotia.

THE SCENE OF LONGFELLOW "EVANGE-
LINE, ETC
WoLFvILLE, N. S., April o 1892. The Jour
nal reaches me regularly and its pages are
promptly perused. l know of no secular
paper that has its local, town, State, nation
al and general news so well systematized as
the Republican journal. But it is not nee
essary for me to tell YOU what you already
know
During the past six weeks | have been
visiting friends in various parts of Nova
Scotia. Great changes have taken place
since 1879, at which time | spent a few
months here. The people consider their
common school system to be the best on
this continent. All teachers are examined
by one central board on the same syllabus,
and the grades are uniform. The neatest
buildings in the sparsely settled farming
districts are the schoolhouses, and these are
We'll supplied with wall maps, globes, die
tionaries, gazetteers, ETC., furnished by the
government. Such sections where the tax
able property is small receive half yearly
grants from the general county and pro-
Vincial funds BY this means the children
in these communities can attend school the
Year round, and are thus placed a level
with the children in the cities and larger
towns. All the schools, both i'll country and
city. are regularly visited by government
inspectors-meH who expected to be
able to teach the teachers how to teach.
The Baptists MethodistS Episcopaians
and PreShyterians have all given some at
tenton to collegiate education. Acadia Col
leet. founded hy the Baptsts in 1888 at
WolIvIie, graduated last June Il students
Her alumni are scattered all over the world
Scores of them are in the United States,
lawyers, doctors, ministers and college pro-
fessors. Among the latter class | may nlen-
ton Prof. Elder, of Colby: Prof Macvane
of Harvard, and rof. Schurman, of Cor
nell Female education has also made great
advancement during the past Is yeas. The
denominations above named all have schools
OF high grade for their daughters. Twenty
OF thirty years ago the girls We're sent to
Mount Holyolle and to Bradford Academy.
Now they can get an A. b. course az home.
Some still go abroad and Baptist minister
of Wolfvi)le now has daughter at Weles
ley. \ wear or two ago there We're three
girls taking extended courses of study in
Europe two studying in England and one
in Berlin. \ wing-chietiy for cass-rooms-
three stories high and 115 feet long, is now
being added to the Acadia Female Seminary
here. 1t will be completed at tile beginning
of the next term in September. If YOU will
turn to Evangeinc and read the first LOG
lines you will how Wolfville looked in
115s. The hills, the dykes, the Basin Mt.
Blomdon and the site of l5asll's blacksmith
shop remain All else has changed. In 1880
| was as far west as Iowa, and in ISIS rs far
south as Virginia, but during those trips |
saw nothing that e,lualcd this region as re-
CARDS fertility of soil and beauty of natur-
al scenery Two c1untes-Annapolis and
Kngs-in this VALLEY shipped last year 4oo,-
600 barrels Of apples to England. During
the next few years this quantity will be
more than doubled and 4uadruped, as the
new orchards, covering hundreds of acres,
planted since the fast line of fruit steamers
was started, have not yet come fully into
bearing.
Within few weeks | have Glanced to
meet several large shipbuiders and owners.
/ will mention one, Mr.. c. X. Burgess, of
WolfviIle. | took dinner at his house a few
evenings since, with other invited friends
The grounds are Well laid out, and his resi-
tienr4 is the largest and most extensively
furnished of any that | was ever in. His
shipyardS are six miles distant At present
he has eight ships ;,tloat Some of these are
of good size, from 9oto t" $500 tons. He
holds a controlling interest IN them. and in
Il
i'm each Of them Small vessels are not very
profitable, hut ships Of 1000 tons and up
wards have brought their owners. during
the past II years. excellent returns.
Nova Scotia was settled about the sa;re
time. as the New England Colonies hut
froln 1865, to l7sl over 10000 people moved
from New England, chiefly from Massachn-
s,.tts and Connecticut, 10 Nova Scotia and set
tied ON lands given l'v the King OF England.
The present inhabitants OF the Province
are thus descendants of the pure New Eng
land stock as vet not diluted with any for
~ign elements. The church spires in the
farming communities, and i'll villages and
cities are conspicuous on every hand. l have
made special inquiries of late, in different
places in two counties, regards church,
going; and as yet / have not been able to
lind the address of half dozen families
that do not attend divine service on the Sab
bath | had never known or heard of a non
rhurch-goer till after | was through college,
and left the country to pursue further stud
les elsewhere The early sett ers, on coming
here from New England, built the church
and the school house, and their children
have held to the principles of their fathers
with d zeal and tenacity that has known
no faltering. But then, l have heard elderly
people in Montville and Palermo, Me. say
that when they We're young, the churches
were well sustained and the schools also.
Now the schools are smaller, and the
churches thinly attended.
A stranger travelling or visiting here
notices the large schools and the large fami
lies While speaking to some friends the
other day on this subject, one family was re-
ferred to where there are ten sons and four
daughters. Of these, six sons are prosper
ouslv settled near home, and four are smart
Young men and doing we'll in the States
Last week ! visited an aunt, IS years of