HALIFAX, Canada, capital of the province of Nova Scotia and county-seat of Halifax County, a city and port of entry beautifully situated on Halifax Harbor on the Atlantic seaboard in lat. 44° 39' N. and long. 63° 37' W.
Topography.—The harbor, originally known as Chebucto, "chief of is one of the finest in the world. It is 16 miles long from north to south, with an average width of a mile;, has an average tide of four to six feet; is ice-free; and is practically all deep water.
It terminates in Bedford Basin, a beautiful sheet of water four miles wide, affording 10 square miles of safe anchorage. The North West Arm, a narrow, deep harbor three miles long and from one-quarter to one-half mile wide, with wooded banks, on the west of the city, is a charming bay, much utilized for pleasure purposes; on its banks are many villa residences of the wealthier Haligonians. The harbor can be entered day or night at any sea son of the year by vessels of any size. The distance from Halifax to Fastnet Rock (Ire land) is 2,162 miles, or 600 miles less than from New York, and the transatlantic passage is accordingly one day shorter from Halifax than from New York.
Railways, Shipping, etc.— Halifax is the ocean terminus of the Canadian government railways, and through it of the Canadian Pacific, the Canadian Northern and the National Trans continental railways. Branch lines of these roads radiate to various parts of the province. Halifax was the home of Samuel Cunard, the founder of the Cunard Line, and the early packets of that line made Halifax a port of call; now steamship lines run to Prince Ed ward Island, Quebec, Newfoundland, Saint Pierre, Boston, New York, Mexico, Bermuda and the West Indies, and various ports in Great Britain and the Continent. When the Saint Lawrence freezes, Halifax, as the chief winter port of Canada, is the natural terminus of the mail and fast passenger Atlantic liners. Hali fax is also the nearest North American port to most of the South American countries and to South Africa. It is also an important cable centre. In 1914 the shipping tonnage entering the port was 3,901,094. A United States consul general is resident in Halifax. Under con struction in 1916 by the Canadian government are comprehensive national ocean terminals to Cost $35,000,000, occupying one and one-half miles waterfront, covering 200 acres of land and 60 acres of water, providing 27 standard steam ship berths. They will comprise when com pleted a bulkhead landing quay 2,006 feet long and five concrete piers, faced with granite, 1,250 feet long and 320 to 360 feet wide, with a minimum depth at low water of 45 feet. There will be also two grain elevators and a union passenger depot. All railway lines converge at these terminals, affording transportation facili ties not surpassed at any port. These terminals are within 20 minutes steaming of the open Atlantic Ocean. These terminals are in addi tion to the present government terminals fur ther up the harbor, giving berthing accom modation for 10 Atlantic liners; the newest of these is of concrete and cost $1,250,000. Hali fax is the chief fortress and naval station in Canada. The harbor and approaches are pro tected by many modern forts and batteries. On account of its fortifications it has been called the °Cronstadt of and by Kipling °The Warden of the Honor of the North.° The naval dockyard covers 14 acres with a water frontage of 2,700 feet. Halifax has also a
graving dock 600 feet long, 102 feet wide, with 30 feet of water on the sill; and in connection therewith a steel ship repairing plant. There is also a marine railway and a grain elevator. On account of its proximity to the coal mines of Pictou and Cape Breton it is a favorite bunkering port.
Municipal Conditions, In its earlier days Halifax was mainly a military and naval entrepot, but has become more and more a commercial city. It has always been a prom inent banking centre, and is the home of two of the largest chartered banks of the Dominion the Bank of Nova Scotia and the Royal Bank of Canada; it is the wealthiest per capita city of Canada. Dartmouth, on the opposite shore of the harbor, practically 'a suburb of Halifax, has a population of 6,000. The city is built on the western side of the harbor for about five and one-half miles, and is on' a hill which is crowned by an elaborate but antiquated citadel. The streets are regularly laid out, are paved and electric-lighted and have electric tramways. The older public buildings and the commercial portion of the city are built chiefly of freestone, and the houses of wood. The most notable structures include Government House, the offi cial residence of the lieutenant-governor, the Province Building, the seat of the legislature, Saint Paul's Church, the oldest Protestant church edifice in British North America, Dal housie University buildings, the Anglican and Roman Catholic cathedrals, the Technical Col lege, city hall, court house, post office, cus toms house, admiralty house, Wellington bar racks, armories, many banks, several hospitals and other charitable institutions. The beautiful Public Gardens, covering 17 acres, and the natural park at Point Pleasant are especially noteworthy. Halifax has a moderate, equable climate with an average summer temperature of It is the residence of the Roman Catholic archbishop of Halifax, and the Church of England bishop of Nova Scotia. It is noted for its educational and philanthropic institu tions, chief among which are the non-sectarian Dalhousie University (q.v.) with faculties of arts and sciences, law, medicine and dentistry and a department of pharmacy; the Pine Hill Presbyterian Theological College; the Roman Catholic Saint Mary's College, doing prepara tory and elementary college work; the Nova Scotia Technical College, supported by the pro vincial government, giving the final two years of engineering courses (the first two years' work being given in Dalhousie and other colleges), and being the centre of the government trade, mining and technological classes and night schools of great value and high excellence; the Royal Naval College of the Dominion for the training of midshipmen and seamen for the Canadian navy• Halifax Ladies' College (pre paratory) and Conservatory of Music, the latter in affiliation with Dalhousie University; two convent schools and several high schools; the Victoria School of Art and Design; and a free public library. The School for the Deaf and the School for the Blind are noted for the ex cellence of their methods, and are the only ones in eastern Canada and have pupils from all over the Dominion and Newfoundland. The Victoria General Hospital and the Nova Scotia Hospital for the Insane are supported by the provincial government and have training schools for nurses.