Evening star., 1926-10-28

While the Imperial Conference Is
in session in London, to discuss tne
fate of the British commonwealth.
there are also in the same capltal
representatives of Canada, the l'roV-
ince of Quebec and the Colony or
Newfoundland to discuss before the
Privy Council their respective CLAIMS
to a vast tract of territory known as
Labrador.
To the average reader, Labrador
covers that entire northeast Shouluer
of the North American continent De-
tween Hudson Bay and the Atlantlc
Ocean. an area equal to AlaSKa-Dut
few have ever eVinced much interest,"
in lust what sort of territory 1t is, or
even how large 1t is. TO the geogra'
pher, true Labrador is only that mar
row strip of land lying along the At
1antic coast from Belle Isle Strait "a
mouth Of the st. Lawrence Rtver)
up to Cape Chudley, the eastern point
of Ungava Bay and the entrance or
Hudson Strait. That strip of land un-
deniably belongs to Newfoundland,
but lust how wide is that 7OO-mile
strip? It is described in history as
"the coast" but Newfoundland
claims that it must be construed as
extending back into the hinterland
to the height of land above the sources
of all rivers emptying into the Attain
tic Ocean. The Province of Quebac
disputes that claim, and asserts that
the Newfoundland jurisdiction ex-
tends inland only about 10 miles, or
to the heads of the many inlets of the
ocean, and that west of that 10 miles
the land belongs either to Quebec
or to the unorganized territory Of Tn
gava belonging to Canada.
After years of controversy, the
Province of Quebec proposed to buy
the ouitclaifn of Newfoundland, but
$50 100000 with Newfoundland re-
tanning fishery rights-and so the
whole question is referred to the
Privy Council of the Empire, for liti-
cation and settlement.
The island Of Newfoundland IS "the
senior colony" of Great Britain in
America. II antedates in discovery,
though not in continuous settlement,
any other overseas colony. 1t has a
constitutional government, the gov
ernment appointed by the King, for 1t
is a perquisite of the Crown. inde-
pendent of Canada. Newfoundland
Lief the Norseman. but it is certain
that it was discovered in 1897 by John
Cabot. who landed on it and claimed
it for Henry VII. In 1850 1t had a
resident population Of 1000 besides a
floating population of several thou
sand fishermen during the fishing
season. Today its population exceeds
zoe. 900.
Jealous Of their fishing privileges,
the fishermen in the seventeenth CEN
tury persuaded Great Britain 10 dis
courage permanent settlement. by Tor
bidding the erection of residences.
The British records gave to New
| foundland "the coast" as described
above, along the mainland Of the con-
tinent, but for centuries no one
thought of developing that barren and
arctic mainland, except as a base for
the fishing-for drying fish or repair
| ing outfits. Labrador was norman g.
land through the centuries.
y y 4 x
Upon the establishment of the CON
federation of the Dominion of Canada.
uniting all the Canadian provinces.
| in 1867. and for 80 years thereafter.
| all British official maps showed the
Newfoundland Labrador as extending
Ito the height Of land, as claimed to-
day by Newfoundland. That made
| the western boundary beyond the
source Of Hamilton River. which Is
900 miles west Of the mouth OF Hamil-
ton Bay. The bay extends $50 miles In,
land; the bay and the river a total or
| $50 miles from the ocean. The area
of the territory thus claimed by New.
| foundland is 10. 900 square miles, nan
lof which is covered with forest. and
half of that forest is Of considerable
commercial value. with the timber
estimated at 75,000.000 cords.
| In addition to the value or the
timber. there is water power TO oe